Ambushed
by Emerald Lotus
Summary: Our darkest nightmares surface at the most inopportune times. As a simple mission goes wrong, Robin suffers the consequences. And the team must help him before they lose their youngest teammate forever.
1. Chapter 1

A simple mission to "observe, and not act" as Batman had put it, was completely flipped upside down in an instant. All because of the hostages; it was always the hostages. The arms dealers the team was surveying had brought in some people from off the street for their "entertainment", mainly three young girls in their twenties. The team of teenagers watching couldn't sit idly by, and decided to act.

Robin was the first to move, and in retrospect it was a rash move. He entered the warehouse through a skylight, and launched into the rafters using his grappling gun. He was instantly consumed in darkness. Kid Flash ran around to the back where the doors would be open and he could zip in unnoticed. Miss Martin, Superboy, and Aqualad waited as a standby if anything went wrong. They wanted to remain as covert as possible since they shouldn't have been interfering in the first place. And Robin was clearly the most agile and stealthy of the group.

"KF, I'm going to distract the goons. Get the girls after that," Robin said through the mental link Megan had created.

"Got it," Kid replied. He was waiting outside the loading doors, hidden in the shadows through his stealth gear.

Robin threw a Batarang, which whizzed past the thug's heads and lodged in the wall. It beeped a few times and then a gas began to expel from the small contraption. The men became frantic as they tried to search for Batman in the smoke and shadows. While they were distracted, Kid zoomed in and knocked out the captors of the three girls. The girls ran away as soon as they were freed too startled to bother looking for their savior.

"Gee thanks for the recognition ladies," Kid Flash thought.

"Kid," Robin said with an exasperated tone in his voice. "Get out of here already before they notice."

"I'm already out," he replied nonchalantly.

"You should get out too, Robin," Aqualad cut in. "The smoke is beginning to clear."

"Yeah, I can see that. I'll be out in a sec—"As Robin backed up to leave the warehouse suddenly he tripped and his foot hit heavily against the metal air vents, making it ring. "Oh crap."

The thugs looked up and could finally see Robin's outline.

"It's not the Bat!" one of the men shouted.

"Shoot him!" another one yelled. Pistols were suddenly in everyone's hands and rain of lethal lead pursued Robin as he tried to maneuver out of the warehouse. However a bullet grazed his leg, creating a gash on the back of his right calf, and made him stumble. His footing on the heating ducts was lost. Robin began to fall, and couldn't catch himself. The men below him eagerly watched his decent to the cold cement below.

But suddenly arms wrapped around his waist. He looked up to see Miss Martin's worried face, and then back to the ground where Aqualad and Superboy had barreled into the room, mercilessly knocking out any man within reach.

"Thanks Megan," Robin said, smiling at her.

"Sure thing," she replied as she sat him down behind the cover of some crates. He collapsed to one knee; his other leg was wounded and couldn't support his weight. "Oh no, are you hurt?" Megan asked leaning down next to him.

"It's nothing, just a little scrape," Robin stood back up, although with less pressure on his right leg this time. He looked around the crates, assessing the situation. KF, Aqualad, and Superboy were doing fine on their own but they were still outnumbered five-to-one. Robin was about to jump out to help, when Megan put a hand on his shoulder.

"You can't. You're hurt so stay here."

Robin glared at her defiantly, but nodded. "Fine, but I will jump in if something goes wrong. Besides we need to pull out soon," Miss Martian just smiled and flew into the fight.

Robin was watching the fight, making sure everything was going alright. He didn't have time to react when the he was suddenly assaulted from behind. One of the men came up quietly behind Robin, coming out from his hiding place in between the large crates, and pushed down on the back of his injured leg. The man's steel toed boot digging into the wound.

Robin shouted, flipped around, and did a back handspring away from the guy. He landed roughly by sliding across the floor like a baseball player going for home base. The man laughed at him. His face had an eerie grin on it, which was enhanced by a long scar that dragged across his face from the middle of his forehead, across his eye, and down to his chin. As Robin tried to stand a second man came up behind him, and grabbed his arms as he rose to a crouch, and pinned them behind his back. Robin began to struggle against the man's rough grip, the man promptly responded by lifting his arms up more where they threatened to dislocate his shoulders.

"Looks like we trapped a bird," the first man said. His lopsided grin made Robin want to cringe.

"Maybe we should clip its wings," the man holding Robin's arms said with a chuckle.

Robin rolled his eyes. "Idiots."

"What'd you just say, brat?" The man in front of Robin asked.

"I said you're idiots. My friends are just over there, and they're thrashing your buddies. They're gonna get you too," Robin grinned.

"Shut up," the man with the steel-toed boots kicked Robin in the chest.

Robin grunted, but started to laugh. "You know Superboy has super hearing, right? I'm sure if I call him, he'd come and kick your sorry butts."

The man behind Robin pushed his arms up again, yet this time it was with more force than before. A sickening pop emerged from Robin's body as his left shoulder was forced from its socket. He bit his lip to keep from crying out. He had dislocated it before by accident, but being forced was much more painful.

"What do you have to say now, bird boy?" The first thug asked, grinning maliciously at Robin. Robin didn't respond. Instead he slid his legs forward from the kneeling position he was in, and jumped. His hurt shoulder felt as if it was on fire as he did a back flip over his captor's head. The man effectively released Robin as he moved, and now the Boy Wonder was standing behind both thugs.

"Interesting move," the scarred man said. "But how long can you keep that tough guy act up, huh?" The man mocked him. Robin knew he looked tired, and now he was injured. He was definitely at a disadvantage but he wouldn't lose this fight.

Robin pulled out two of his disks, getting ready to throw them at the opposing men. The men charged at him suddenly and Robin threw his disks. The scarred man dodged, but the second man was hit in the chest slowing him down.

The man came at Robin and attempted to punch him across the face. Robin dodged and connected a right hook across the man's face. Robin smiled, but that slowly faded as the man brought his other hand up to punch him. Robin didn't have enough time to dodge, so he blocked the fist with his forearm.

When his hand connected with Robin's forearm, he knew immediately something wasn't right. He just couldn't figure out what. The man grinned and stepped back as his friend came over.

"We've got to get back to the Boss, and let him know what happened before we're caught too," he said, hurriedly. "Those justice punks almost got everyone else down."

Robin stood there watching the conversation, and wondered why he was reacting. Yet when he tried to move, he couldn't. His muscles wouldn't respond, and with no control over his body he folded to the ground. Darkness was creeping into the edges of his vision, and his thoughts were swirling violently.

"_What the hell just happened? I was fine a minute ago,"_ Robin thought to himself.

The scarred man picked up Robin's cape, and began to drag him across the floor. He then kicked him roughly and tossed him into the space between some of the larger crates. The shadows hid Robin's limp figure from sight.

"See ya around, kid," The man laughed and left Robin on the floor. And with that Robin's consciousness slowly dissolved and his world faded to an unsettling black.

* * *

**I probably shouldn't be starting this, but I've had this idea forever now. I plan to make this into a chapter story, and I hope the first chapter was enjoyed. I'll try to update as frequently as possible, but school tends to get in the way alot. Especially now since I've only got about eight weeks left. **

**Anyway, if you have any thoughts or comments about this chapter please review. Thanks!  
**


	2. Chapter 2

Robin could hear muffled voices talking, but couldn't make out a word they were saying. He was in a weird state of consciousness on the brink of almost being awake, but not quite. It felt like he was awake because he could definitely feel the pain his body was in, but at the same time everything seemed too surreal to him that it could only be a dream. It felt like he was floating, he wasn't grounded to anything in the existing abyss. He had lost a fight against two humans, right? Well, that had to be a dream, but then again his body wouldn't be hurting the way it was if he had won the fight. What if they captured him?

"Rob! Dude, wake up!" a sudden distant voice called out.

Robin was suddenly aware of the something cold and hard underneath him. It was most likely the floor and that someone was touching his wounded leg. He opened his eyes slowly, trying to figure out what exactly was going on. There were four large shadows surrounding him. Startled, Robin automatically reached for his utility belt trying to grasp a weapon to defend himself. However one of the shadows reached out and grabbed his arm.

"Let…let go!" Robin shouted, trying to pull away from the person's grip. His body was too weak though, and he couldn't get his hand away.

"Hey Rob, calm down," said a familiar voice. Robin stopped struggling, and tried to focus on the shadowy figures in front of him.

"KF?" Robin asked slowly. He blinked a few times as the form of Kid Flash came into focus. He looked around slowly and could see the Bio-ship interior in the background and his team's worried faces watching him.

"Yeah, it's me," Kid smiled softly, looking somewhat relieved. "Are you alright?"

"I've been better," Robin said simply.

"Robin, what happened to you?" Aqualad questioned. He was standing to the left side of the make-shift hospital table. "We found you in between some crates about a half an hour ago, but we could not wake you."

"Oh um I-I don't know…I was attacked from behind by two guys. I have no idea how I didn't hear them sneak up behind me. I should have been paying more attention," Robin told him. He paused taking a breath. His chest was sore, and pain flared up with every word. "One…o-one of them dislocated my shoulder. Then…ow!" Robin flinched as Megan wrapped gauze around his leg.

"Sorry, sorry!" Megan said hastily.

Robin sighed. "It's okay."

"Robin, what else is there?" Aqualad asked.

"I…I blocked a punch. Something happened to my body after that. I couldn't move my muscles, or think straight. Then I passed out," Robin finished, mumbling the last few words. His body was an inferno of pain. His shoulder in particular felt like it had a red hot poker jabbed into it, and he couldn't keep his thoughts focused.

"You didn't set my shoulder back in place?" Robin asked after a few minutes.

Aqualad shook his head. "No, we noticed it was injured, but we wanted to wait until we got back to Mount Justice."

Robin tried to push himself up into a sitting position, but KF pushed him back down. "You're banged up pretty bad, Rob. Stay still."

"I can't breathe lying down like this. Let me up," Robin said. Kid removed his hand from Robin's shoulder, and helped him sit. A sense of vertigo washed over him as he was moved upright, but he ignored it. "Can you set my shoulder back in place?" Robin asked Aqualad.

"Yes, but are you sure it is wise to do such a thing now?"

"Please it will feel better if you do," Robin reasoned.

"Alright," Aqualad put his hands on Robin's back, preparing to move the joint. "Are you ready?" Robin nodded. Aqualad pushed on his shoulder. Robin grimaced, clenching his teeth together against the pain. The faint sound of cartilage and bone moving could be heard for a quick second, and then the shoulder was back in place.

Robin took a deep breath. That was worse that he thought it would be, probably because his body was so worn down. The room was still rocking back and forth, but had furiously increased with the movement of his shoulder.

"Robin, are you going to be okay?" Megan asked. She had finished wrapping up his leg and moved to the captain's chair to pilot the ship.

"Yeah, dude you look like you're going to be sick," Kid added.

"I-I'm fine. I'm just dizzy," Robin lay back down on the table, and closed his eyes to stop seeing the swaying walls of the Bio-ship. "How long until we get back?" Robin asked.

"We're approaching Happy Harbor now, and will be in the landing bay in a few minutes," Megan replied.

"Did anyone call Batman?" Robin asked quietly.

"No," KF responded. "Uh we were going to, but we wanted to make sure you were alright first."

"Good, I didn't really want him to find out."

"Rob, did you get hit in the head? He's going to find out. You're a wreck, and plus you can't hide anything from that man. He can see right through anyone," Kid said.

The ship slowed and silently landed inside the mountain's hangar. The door to the Bio-ship opened upon Megan's command. They could see outside the ship, and what they saw wasn't good. Batman was waiting for them.

"I suppose we must go speak with Batman now," Aqualad stated. He walked out of the ship ahead of the others.

Robin, with Kid's assistance rose to a sitting position once more. The vertigo was still present, but was slowly diminishing. He slid off the table faster than the others could react, trying to stand by himself. That utterly failed. Robin's legs were practically made of gelatin, and he wobbled weakly. He held onto the table for support taking a deep breath.

"Do you want some help?" Superboy asked. Robin almost jumped at the sound of his voice; he forgot the clone was there.

"No thanks, I can walk," Robin said. He straightened up and walked steadily toward the exit. The other three members filed out behind him. The team went to stand in front of Batman to debrief him about the mission, and no doubt hear his numerous critiques (if you could call them that) about what they did wrong.

"It appears that you five did not follow direct orders," Batman said once the teenagers stood at attention in front of the intimidating mentor. Aqualad had just finished telling him about how they intervened on their mission. "You were supposed to observe and report. That was all."

Robin stopped listening. He could feel his legs shaking, and his vision was wavering out of focus. He wasn't going to last much longer. He focused on his breathing, trying to calm his body down, and started to listen to Batman again.

"However, seeing as civilians were involved you had no choice but to act," Batman said. He looked at the team, his glance lingering on Robin. He could see something was obviously wrong with him, and he was no longer paying attention.

"Robin," Batman called.

Robin looked up from his focus on the floor to his mentor. His face was pale, almost translucent. In one swift movement he toppled to the side. Superboy reached out and caught him before he could crash onto the concrete floor.

"I-I guess that was a bad idea," Robin whispered.

Batman walked over and kneeled down next to Robin, looking him over. "Take him to medical. Red Tornado will take care of him," Batman instructed.

Superboy slid his hand under Robin's legs and back, careful to avoid both of his injuries, and picked him up. He was silent until he was out of the landing bay. Once he was out of Batman's sight, he looked down at the boy in his arms.

"That was stupid," he said bluntly. "What were you trying to prove?"

"I don't know…I didn't want to look weak in front of Batman," Robin replied slowly.

"I don't think he cares about that," Superboy said. He walked into the sterile white room of the medical ward and gently placed Robin on a hospital bed. The two then proceeded to wait for Red Tornado to meet them there.

After a moment Robin replied softly. "Yeah, I know. I wasn't thinking…I-I should have told him right away. What's wrong with me?" he moaned, and his body went limp as he fell asleep once more.

Superboy honestly couldn't answer Robin's question, because he had no idea what was going on. He had never witnessed what Robin was going through before. He watched him, concerned. At least Robin was breathing, but he was worried for the young hero. What could have put him in such a state?

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**Thank you all so much for the reviews/favorites/alerts. There were so many it was shocking! Well, here's chapter two. I hope you like it. It might not be as exciting as the first chapter, but I've got some stuff planned for future chapters. Thanks again.**


	3. Chapter 3

After Robin had collapsed and Superboy took him to the medical ward, Kid Flash began to tell the Dark Knight about Robin's condition.

"Afterwards they got into a fight, and Robin said he passed out shortly after blocking a punch," Kid Flash hastily finished explaining what Robin had told them earlier to Batman.

No one could describe the exact emotion that emanated from Batman at that point. It was a mix of concern, frustration and anger. "You're dismissed," Batman told the team, the tone in his voice made the teens want to cringe. They watched somewhat in shock as Batman stalked out of the landing bay and proceeded to the medical ward.

Batman was furious that the team's mission had gone so astray. It should have been a straightforward stake out, but then again he always told Robin to "expect the unexpected". Sometimes things didn't always go according to plan, and improvisation was needed, but because of that Robin was currently lying in a hospital bed injured.

Batman walked to the doorway of the medical room and observed the situation. He was still upset, so he tried to calm himself before fully walking into the room. Red Tornado had just finished bandaging Robin's torso. He saw that Superboy was still there standing next to the bed. He was watching Red Tornado intently as he began to fill a syringe with a blood sample. Once Red Tornado finished he took the sample over to some computers to run tests on it.

Batman decided that he had waited long enough and made his presence known. Although he could tell both the android and clone knew he had been standing there. Superboy looked up at him, and then back at the sleeping Robin. He didn't want to leave Robin's side, but he knew Batman wanted him to go so he silently left the room.

Batman moved to stand next to Robin. He noticed that Robin's gloves were removed and his tunic was folded neatly on the bedside stand. His mask was still in place. "What was the extent of his injuries?" Batman asked Red Tornado.

"His rib cage on the right side is heavily bruised, but there are no broken ribs thanks to the bullet proof lining in his suit. There was a gash on his right leg that appears to be from a bullet. His left shoulder looks to have been dislocated due to discoloration of the skin, but it has been properly put back into place. I have wrapped his chest to limit movement, and cleansed the wound on his leg. When he wakes his arm will need to be placed in a sling," Red Tornado finished reporting. He turned back to the computer to resume working on the blood sample. Batman nodded absently. The report added up to what the team had told him during debriefing.

Batman paced a view steps next to the hospital bed. He was trying to figure out what could be wrong with his partner, but at the moment there were so many unknown factors he couldn't piece any information together. From what Kid Flash had told him Robin was attacked by two men, but that shouldn't have led him to be like this. He was perfectly healthy when he left for the mission earlier that night.

Batman was suddenly pulled from his thoughts when Robin moaned quietly. He placed his hand on the boy's head, and stroked his bangs away from his face in an attempt to calm him. Robin stirred slightly at the motion, and Batman pulled his hand away.

Robin opened his eyes, and instantly recoiled back into his pillow. He had a panicked expression on his face, but slowly relaxed after seeing his mentor. "B-Batman?" Robin whispered.

"How are you feeling?" Batman asked.

"Sore and tired. I can't seem to stay awake for very long."

"Well then go back to sleep."

"I-I'm sorry," Robin slurred.

"It's not your fault, Robin," Batman said quietly. Robin's head bobbed a bit in response, and then he dozed off again.

Batman looked over Robin making sure that he was comfortable enough, but something caught his eye. There was a bruise on Robin's forearm. It was just starting to form and was still light in color, but noticeable enough. Kid Flash did say Robin blocked a punch that must have been where the bruise was from, yet something wasn't right. Batman looked closer and could see a faint red imprint on Robin's skin. Batman couldn't tell what it was exactly though. He walked over to one of the drawers holding medical supplies and pulled out a magnifying glass normally used in operations. Batman returned to Robin, holding up the magnifier to his arm. There was a small point on the skin in the middle of the strange marking. It was a needle prick.

"Red Tornado, did you find anything in the toxin screen yet?" Batman asked as he reached into his utility belt. He pulled out a small digital camera, and took a picture of the bruise so that he could analyze it up close later.

"Yes, and it's quite peculiar. There were traces of an unknown chemical drug in his system. The chemical compounds show the drug to have been a strong muscle relaxant mixed with a sleeping serum," the android answered, pulling up the information on the computer screen.

Batman looked over the data. "The drug must be quick acting; an easy way to slip out of a fight."

"I theorize the drug should wear off within the next twenty-four hours," Red Tornado concluded.

"Thank you for your help," Batman said. Red Tornado nodded at him and left the room.

Batman walked over to the exit and turned off the overhead lights. He looked back once at Robin, the small fluorescent light above the bed was still on, and made the young boy look almost ghostly. Batman frowned, angry at himself that his boy was hurt and he couldn't do anything except wait for him to heal. With one last glance at Robin, Batman turned and left the room to go examine the picture he took.

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**This chapter was a little shorter than the last one, but I hope you liked it just the same. For the record, I am not a medical expert. If what Red Tornado said about Robin's injuries sounded incorrect in any way, well just bear with me. I tried to make it seem as logical as possible. Also ****thank you so much for all the reviews so far! It makes me happy to know people are enjoying this story. **  



	4. Chapter 4

Superboy was sitting on the couch in the lounge along with Megan and Kaldur. Wally however was pacing back and forth behind the couch while simultaneously eating a bag of pretzels. They had been in the room since they returned from the mission a few hours ago. The television was on, but none of them were really paying attention to it. It was just there for white noise; something to fill the silence between the team.

"You're sure he was okay?" Wally asked Superboy.

"Yes," Superboy answered.

"Positive?"

"For the hundredth time, yes!" Superboy grumbled. "My answer is not going to change no matter how many times you ask me. I saw Red Tornado tend to his wounds."

"Alright," Wally mumbled and resumed his pacing.

"Wally, why don't you sit down? You're going to wear out the soles of your shoes pretty soon," Megan tried to reason with him.

"I would, but I can't sit still. I'm just worried you know. I've known Rob for a while, and I've never seen him like that before. We still don't know what caused his condition."

"Batman will take care of him, but if you're so worried why don't you ask if you can visit Robin?" Kaldur said.

Wally held up his hands in a defensive motion. "Whoa, you saw Bats before. He was totally out for blood, and I don't want to be the one to set him off. I'll wait."

"Batman's not—" Superboy rose of the couch suddenly, standing alert. "Robin!"

"Robin? What happened? Is he hurt?" Wally asked speaking hyperactively.

"He screamed. He's yelling at someone." Superboy said.

Without any hesitation Wally was out of the room in an instant. He was going to head straight toward the medical ward, but as he passed through the training room he found Batman working with multiple computer screens. Wally skidded to a halt, almost tumbling forward into a roll.

"Batman…Superboy said Robin needs help," Wally said in a rush. Batman whipped around to look at the redhead for less than a nanosecond, and then bolted out of the room.

Batman saw Wally speed past him toward medical, and for that moment he wished he had the ability to get to Robin as fast as he could. "_Whose idea was it to put the medical ward all the way in the back of the mountain?_" Batman thought angrily and sprinted faster down the hall.

Wally entered the medical room and was frantic. Robin wasn't in the hospital bed where he knew he should be.

"Robin?" Wally called out. He heard a whimpering sound and walked over to the bed. He found Robin on the floor, almost under the bed. "Rob, what's wrong?" Wally asked, concerned.

"He was here," the boy whispered. He was so pale, a sheen of sweat on his brow, and trembling. Robin was breathing heavily, almost to the point of hyperventilating

Batman sprinted into the room, and the rest of the team came up to the door only seconds later. Batman walked over to the bed, and up to Wally. Wally saw him and took a step back, so that Batman could get to Robin. Batman placed his hand on Robin's.

"Robin, why are you on the floor?" Batman asked calmly.

"That man…h-he was here. I saw him in the corner!" Robin pointed at the corner of the room with a shaking hand. "He said he was going to do it again. D-don't let him do it again!"

"Robin, no one's there. You don't have to worry."

"He was though! I saw him, he was laughing at me about them. He wasn't sorry, he was so happy about it, said they deserved everything. How could he do that to them? They didn't deserve it!" Robin was becoming hysteric, and his voice held the sound of unseen tears. "Don't let him do it again."

"Robin, look at me," Batman said, but the teen still had his eyes fixated on the corner of the room. "Robin," Batman gently tilted Robin's face toward his. Fear was etched into his expression. "No one is there. He can't hurt you anymore, understand?"

"But Batman—"

"Trust me. You're safe, he can't hurt you or anyone else anymore," Batman said. Robin seemed to relax a little. Batman lifted Robin up off the floor and put him back on the bed.

"Mr. West, would you get some fever medicine from that cabinet over there?" Batman asked. Startled, Wally tripped over his own sneakers but did as the Dark Knight asked. He came back and handed a little plastic cup filled with a gooey red liquid to Batman.

Batman took the plastic cup. "Robin, you need to drink this.

"Okay…" Batman tipped the cup against Robin's lips, and the liquid slid into Robin's mouth. He swallowed and frowned at the foul tasting medicine. "Gross."

"It will make you feel better. Now go to sleep, and please stay in bed," Batman said.

"Don't go yet," Robin mumbled.

"I won't," Batman reassured. He stayed with Robin until he drifted off once more. He was aware of the audience watching him, but ignored it.

The rest of the team was surprised, and worried for Robin. They had never really seen Batman act so kindly to anyone before. They knew that he and Robin had a special relationship, one that ran deeper than just protégé and mentor, but they've never witnessed the extent of that relationship. It was truly an odd spectacle to behold.

Wally on the other hand knew about their predicament to some point. What he was shocked about was Robin's behavior. The kid was always so calm and professional about everything. He barely ever freaked out or showed fear, but just now he had been petrified. But the most worrisome thing was that there was nothing there.

"Is he going to be alright," Megan finally spoke up.

"Yes, he'll be fine. Red Tornado discovered that there was an unknown drug in his system, and now his body is fighting it off. His fever caused him to see hallucinations, and unfortunately you just witnessed that," Batman answered.

"How was he drugged?" Kadur asked.

"The serum was hidden in a ring, and when Robin blocked the punch the needle was out. The drug was instantly injected into his bloodstream," Batman explained.

"Do you know what he was talking about?" Wally asked after a moment. "I've never seen him so scared before."

"His hallucination was just a nightmare of the past that took shape in his eyes," Batman responded. "When he is better, do not mention tonight to him unless he brings it up. The past for him is something to be left alone, understand?" Batman said.

"Yes sir," the team replied.

"Good, now I would suggest you get some rest. It's three in the morning and you will be expected at training at nine."

The team nodded and filed out of the room after Batman had nothing more to say.

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**Well here's another chapter for all you fantastic readers. Although I don't know how satisfied I am with this. It was difficult to write, and there's a lot of dialogue (sorry if anyone seems out of character). Also, its a bit short. I will make sure the next chapter is longer, but** **I hope you all like it anyway. **

**Once again thanks for the many reviews and alerts. There have been a ton of them, and I appreciate every single one! Thanks! :)  
**


	5. Chapter 5

Robin slowly opened his eyes only to find the dark rock ceiling of the medical ward above him. His mind was fuzzy from sleep, and he had a horrible, icy feeling of a lingering nightmare in the back of his thoughts. Yet what it was about Robin could not recall.

"_How long have I been sleeping_," he wondered. He saw a clock on the wall, the hands were in the seven o'clock setting, but if it was morning or evening he couldn't tell. He pushed himself into a sitting position, and winced at the flicker of pain that ran through his shoulder. Robin noticed that his shirt, gloves, and utility belt were missing, but found them a moment later on the bedside table. He grabbed his utility belt out of habit and put it on, but decided to leave his shirt behind for the moment. He didn't want to struggle with it, and injure his shoulder further.

Robin rose from the bed, and carefully stood up. He looked down at his injured leg, and could see the small gash still in his pants. There was still dried blood on the cloth. He ran a hand through his hair, and frowned.

"Ew, I guess a shower would be a good idea," Robin muttered, somewhat disgusted with his current state. Cradling his left arm with his elbow placed in his right palm he left the room, a slight limp to his step, and attempted to find someone to explain things to him and take a shower.

He passed through the empty training room, and into the common room. No one was there, and he still couldn't tell what time of day it was because the mountain had no windows in it. He sighed and continued down the hallway until he reached the sleeping quarters. He entered his room, grabbed a quick change of clothes, and looked at the clock he had set up in military time.

"It's morning, I guess everyone is still asleep," he turned away from the clock and walked to the hall bathroom.

He undressed the wrappings and winced at the dark blue shades on the right side of his torso. There was also a matching bruise on his forearm. The gash on his leg wasn't too deep, but it was long, stretching horizontally across the back of his calf muscle. He got into the shower, the warm water releasing all of the built up tension in his body. After he felt thoroughly cleaned of all blood and sweat, Robin turned the shower off. He quickly dried and changed into a pair of loose gray sweatpants, and after a few careful movements to avoid injury to his shoulder, a plain black t-shirt. He folded up his utility belt into his pocket and replaced his mask with his dark sunglasses.

Robin ventured into the kitchen afterward, deciding he was sort of hungry. It was still quiet in the mountain, but no doubt someone would be up soon. He took a seat at the island in the kitchen and began picking at the vine of grapes sitting in a bowl in the middle of the counter. For a moment Robin wished he was back at the manor that way there would at least be Alfred to speak to. He always liked the early morning conversations he and the elderly man had during breakfast.

Wally walked into the kitchen a moment later, half asleep and dressed in boxers and a white tank top. The redhead didn't notice the Boy Wonder sitting at the island, and immediately proceeded to the refrigerator. Robin watched him amused, as he took out milk and a few pieces of fruit. He then reached into the cabinet for a box of cereal, and then over to another one for a bowl.

"Can you get me one too?" Robin asked. Wally jumped and almost dropped the ceramic bowl to the floor.

"Rob!" Wally exclaimed, as he spun around to look at the boy. Robin was laughing at Wally's surprised reaction. "How long have you been there?"

"The whole time," Robin smiled. "You just didn't notice me."

"Well, I wasn't expecting to see you in the kitchen. You changed your clothes?" Wally said taking in Robin's newly dressed form. "How long have you been up?"

"About forty minutes."

"Should you really even be up?" Wally asked.

"Yeah. My muscles ache a little, but other than that I think I'm okay."

"No fever?"

Robin looked at him, confused. "No, why?"

"Uh, I was just checking. You had one yesterday morning, it was pretty bad," Wally said. He placed a bowl in front of Robin, and walked around the island to sit next to him.

Wally and Robin ate in silence until the rest of the team came into the kitchen. They looked a little weary, as Wally had first looked, but then they noticed the Boy Wonder at the counter. They were silent at first, just staring at the foreign figure of Robin as he ate a spoonful of cereal. Finally, Megan was the first to speak up.

"It's good to see you awake, Robin," Megan smiled.

"How are you doing?" Kaldur asked.

"I feel fine," Robin answered. "How long have I been out?"

"It was about a day and half, dude. After your fever hallucinations stopped, you just… slept," Wally had caught what he just said after it was too late. Batman didn't want him to mention the delusions Robin had seen while he was sick, but then again he hadn't said anything too revealing he was still in the clear, sort of.

Robin looked at Wally questioningly. "I was hallucinating?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Oh," Robin features set rigidly. "I don't remember anything," yet to the contrary he knew that was the source of the nightmarish feeling he had upon waking. It must have been pretty terrible to remain for so long. "Wait a minute…you were there?"

"Um…" Wally averted his gaze from Robin, and the rest of the team looked uneasy.

"Yes, we were in the room," Kaldur answered. "We are sorry, we did not intentionally intrude, but we thought you were in trouble."

"Don't worry about. Thanks for helping me out," Robin said. He smiled lightly, but he was slightly embarrassed. He wondered what he had said…did he reveal anything?

"Robin," the sudden new voice made the other teammates flinch. Robin had expected the new presence, and turned around to see Batman waiting for him in the hall. Knowingly Robin nodded toward him and without another word Robin slid from his seat and walked over to his mentor. The two of them walked out of the room as the other teens watched. It never ceased to amaze them that Batman and Robin could communicate on such a silent level.

The dynamic duo walked into the training room. Batman stopped and turned to look at Robin. He looked completely stern as always, but Robin could see the slight relief and concern in his expression.

"Are you feeling better?" Batman finally asked.

"Yes, but what happened?" Robin asked.

"A toxin was released into your system while you were fighting."

"Wait—" Robin said. His face was scrunched up in thought as he tried to remember what happened during the fight. "H-he didn't have any weapons on him. How could that happen?"

"There was a small impression on your skin. I found out it was hidden in his ring, and when he punched you the drug was instantly effective as it entered your bloodstream," Batman explained.

Robin frowned, and bowed his head while clenching his fists. "I should have seen that coming. I was too careless, and look what happened! How could I be so ignorant? I completely screwed up." He huffed.

"Robin, it's not your fault. Mistakes happen, but even I wouldn't have calculated something like that to happen," Batman placed his hand on Robin's head, and slightly ruffled his hair in a gesture to calm him. Batman was sincere in what he had said; it was true that he would have never thought of something like that to happen, at least not at a simple arms deal like that.

"I suppose. So this drug caused me to pass out, not be able to stand, and hallucinate? What was I hallucinating about?"

Batman stiffened. He didn't really want to bring it up because he didn't want to bring up painful memories for Robin, but he knew Wally had said something. It was too late to go back now. "You were having a livid nightmare about Zucco. You saw him in the room."

Robin looked up at Batman. His face shocked. "Oh…that's bad. I haven't dreamt about him for a while now. Did…did I say anything about my identity? The team said they heard me."

"No, you were incoherent," Batman answered.

"That's good…I guess. Anyway, where have you been? I thought you would be here, but obviously you've been off somewhere else," Robin asked, quickly changing the subject. He didn't want to dwell on his nightmare for long, and Batman easily obliged him.

"I've been looking into the arms deal that you were at. I found out some things about the men attempting to pull the heist," Batman said. He activated one of the holographic computer screens and started to bring up files.

"What did you find?"

"Unfortunately nothing good," Batman grumbled.

* * *

**I'm sorry for the long wait. This chapter was killing me. I kept getting different ideas for how I wanted to present it, and so I kept rewriting it. Finally I just decided to go with this version. I'm not sure how I feel about it, but I hope anyone who reads it finds it interesting. I tried to make it a bit longer as an apology for the long wait. **

**Anyway, school is almost over. I've got about four weeks left, so updates are going to be somewhat scarce, but I will try my best to get a few updates in. Thanks for all the wonderful reviews so far. I am always happy to get them, and you have no idea how much I appreciate feed back on this. Thanks a lot!  
**


	6. Chapter 6

Robin watched as Batman pulled multiple files up on the screen. Each file was filled with pictures of men posing for a mug-shot and background information next to it. Robin read silently over the bios, trying to piece everything together.

"I don't get it," he said looking to his mentor. "They have nothing in common."

"Exactly, that's the problem. They were all organized together for the smuggling deal. They all have a history of robbery, arson, grand-theft auto…but mostly in free lance jobs," Batman explained, and then started pulling some of the files together. "However some of these men have previously pulled heists working under other criminals," Batman said, and started pulling some of the mug-shots together. "These eight men worked for Two Face at one point, and these six over here worked under the Penguin, but I checked them out and they're both still locked away in Arkham."

"So someone else is pulling their strings?" Robin asked.

Batman gave a curt nod. "But there aren't any clues yet as to whom it is. Is there anything you noticed while you were there that stood out to you?"

"No, it looked like they were just trying to take the crates. Maybe the shipment they were after would give us a hint. What was in the crates exactly?"

Batman pulled up a cargo list for the warehouse. "New military grade gas launchers and some gas grenades with a new design that expel gas faster. There were also assault rifles as well as machine guns."

Robin cocked an eyebrow. "First, why would someone want that kind of stuff? It's only good for stopping hippies from tearing apart city halls. And second, why weren't the weapons more heavily guarded? You think Gotham City would learn by now."

"There wasn't any ammunition. I suppose they didn't feel the need to protect a bullet-less gun. Anyway, I'll look into it further and see if there's anything we overlooked in the warehouse," Batman said.

Robin was about to respond when the computer announced Black Canary entering through the zeta beam teleport. Their conversation had ended for the moment, but Robin wasn't done yet. He would talk to Batman later. He wanted to get to the bottom of this.

Upon seeing Robin, Black Canary smiled at him. "Training will begin in fifteen minutes, where are the others?"

"In the kitchen," Robin answered.

"Thanks," she said, and walked off.

Batman looked down at Robin. "You need a sling if you want your shoulder to heal properly. Come on," he said and shut down the screens. He walked out of the room, Robin following a few paces behind. Batman retrieved a sling from one of the drawers in the medical room and began to adjust it so that it would fit Robin.

"I hate wearing these things. I can't move in them," Robin complained as he put the sling around his neck.

Batman chuckled lightly. "That is the point of them after all."

"Yeah, I know. How long do I have to wear it?"

"A week or two. You're double-jointed, so it wasn't a very severe dislocation," Batman answered.

The two of them left the white room, and returned to the training room where Black Canary was giving out instructions for the day's lesson. Robin stood up against the back wall with Batman and watched.

"The point is to avoid being knocked off balance," Black Canary said. "One of you will be the attacker the other a defender. The defender cannot use any offensive moves; this drill is block and duck only. You must last against your attacker for five minutes."

"Why can't we fight back? If someone was coming after us, it would make sense to try to get at them instead of running away," Wally piped in.

"It's just practice. You won't be able to fend off everyone you fight. Some may have a strength advantage, or height. It's good to know how to get out of the way, as much as it is to fight back," Black Canary explained. "So with that said who wants to go first?"

"I will go first," Kaldur said stepping forward.

"Okay, you will be the attacker. Wally you defend," Black Canary pointed at him. Wally slouched but walked onto the censored floor. "There will be no use of powers for this round," Black Canary announced once they were ready. The two nodded at her. "Begin!"

Kaldur charged at Wally attempting a right hook, but Wally evaded it by taking a step back. Kaldur changed to a left jab and then a low roundhouse kick with his right. The kick caught Wally in his side as he had swerved right to avoid the punch and sent him down to the floor.

The floor censor lit up with the words "Kid Flash: Status Fail."

"Nice try, Wally," Black Canary said. "Kaldur, that was a good idea with the fake out punch. You need to be prepared for anything, watch out for feints or they could cost you. Okay, let's continue with Kaldur on defense and Superboy on offense."

The drill this time lasted a little bit longer, but eventually Kaldur was knocked down by a punch. Robin watched as his team continued their drills. He really wanted to participate; he was skilled in evasive moves. He could even do it with one hand tied behind his back. He mentally laughed at the irony of that thought since his arm was in a sling.

"You're getting better, but keep your eyes on your opponent. Don't get distracted," Black Canary instructed.

"I want to go one round," Robin said to Batman.

"No, you just got out of the hospital bed and you're still injured."

"I feel better; I'm just a little sore, and my leg doesn't hurt if I don't put too much pressure on it. Come on, I can't sit here and just watch them," Robin bounced a little on his toes to try to prove his point. "I'll spar Wally, he won't be able to touch me. Please, I'm good at this stuff, and you know it."

Batman stared at Robin, his face emotionless. He knew he wasn't going to be able to convince him otherwise. Robin never was very good at sitting still for too long unless they were on a mission. "Fine. One round only, no more than that."

"Yes!" Robin walked over to the training floor.

"Black Canary, Robin will participate in this round against Wally," Batman said.

She looked over at Batman and then at Robin. "Are you positive?" she asked Robin.

"Yeah, I just want to move a little. It won't be a problem."

"Very well. Robin is on defense, and Wally will be offense," Black Canary announced.

Wally reluctantly walked up to Robin. "I don't want to do this, dude. You're hurt."

"I'm fine, besides you won't be able to land a hit," Robin laughed.

Wally relaxed a little bit and stood in a fighting stance. Robin was standing on the balls of his feet, bouncing lightly.

"Begin," Black Canary shouted.

Wally moved forward, hesitating for a moment, but threw a right-handed jab at Robin. Robin blocked it with his right hand and sidestepped, positioning himself so that he was always angled with Wally. It made it difficult for Wally to attack, as he had to change his stance to attempt a punch. Wally spun trying to arc a hammer fisted punch at Robin, but he saw it coming. He ducked low, and crossed out of the way. He was completely behind Wally this time, and begun to shadow his movements. Robin laughed at Wally who was somewhat frustrated at Robin for being able to out-maneuver him.

"Give up," Robin taunted. "You can't get me."

"Not yet," Wally said, looking over his shoulder trying to see Robin.

Wally lowered himself and attempted a sweep kick to catch Robin off guard. Robin hopped backwards, grinning. "I taught you that. You can't use it against me."

"Aw, just sit still will you," Wally said, trying to move fast enough without using his super speed to face Robin.

Robin snickered. He was going to win, he practically had already. He was about to move to face Wally again when he saw a flash in the back of the room. He looked over to the wall behind his teammates, and saw a woman standing there. The tip of her blonde ponytail and her tight red and gold sequined outfit was covered in blood and she was glaring at him.

Robin gasped, reeled backwards, and in the next moment she was gone and Robin was sitting on the floor eye level with Wally's shins.

"Rob, sorry. I just sort of pushed you and you went down," Wally said bending down on one knee. "Did I hurt you?"

"N-no, no I think I'm okay," Robin said, though he wasn't completely convinced. He tried to hide the fact that his hands were shaking. What did he just see? It couldn't have been real. There was no possible way for that to happen.

Batman walked up to Robin and helped him to his feet. "That's enough for now."

Robin nodded absently, trying to look past Batman at the wall. Batman followed his gaze. "What are you looking at?"

"I thought I saw…never mind. I need some water," Robin excused himself from the training room.

He headed for the kitchen. He was deeply disturbed. What he saw couldn't have been at all possible; his mind was playing tricks on him. Yet the vision of the blood soaked phantom was vivid in his mind, it made his stomach roll. He could feel bile burning in the back of his throat as he dashed for the restroom. The door was knocked open violently and smashed against the wall as Robin kneeled over the toilet and retched. Once he finished, he leaned back against the sink, hugging his knees with his right arm.

"Get it together, Grayson," He whispered to himself. He rested his head against his knees trying to catch his breath. He just over exerted himself a bit, and put too much stress on his body. There was no possible way for that woman to be in Mount Justice. His mother was dead, and there was no way she was coming back.

* * *

**I apologize for the lack of...well everything in the last chapter. I was having such terrible writer's block at the time. I hope this chapter makes up for it. I wasn't going to update until the weekend, but I finished this chapter early. I hope you like it.**

**As always thanks for the support and reviews. They've been awesome so far.  
**


	7. Chapter 7

The following days passed in a slow, mundane haze for Robin. He had been condemned to a life of teenage normalcy as he recovered from his injuries. After the training incident with Wally, Batman had forbidden him from setting foot in the training room, or any of the gymnasiums between the mountain and the Wayne mansion. Robin didn't like being banned from working out. It made him feel useless and sluggish, but the sluggishness might have been due to the lack of sleep Robin was getting.

At the moment he was sitting on the couch with his laptop doing criminal research. It was something to occupy the time. He sighed shutting the lid of his computer and rested his head against the back of the sofa. He was getting nowhere in his investigation of the botched arms deal, and Batman didn't really find anything of value in the warehouse. He was beginning to think that maybe they wouldn't find those idiot criminals. And the criminals that were caught just said that they were offered money for the deal from an unknown source.

Robin closed his eyes behind his sunglasses, trying to think but he was drawing a blank. He had run over the scene in his head hundreds of time, and nothing stood out to him. He couldn't find the guy who drugged him in any of the criminal databases either, and lately he was just too tired to care. Sleep had been evading him over the past couple of days. Sure, he was used to pulling all-nighters once in a while, but having them for consecutive days in a row was beginning to takes its toll. Robin sighed, and leaned his head back against the top of the sofa. He stayed like that until he heard his friends coming into the living room from training.

Wally was going off about something, but Robin couldn't pick up what it was. He sounded upset though, Canary probably showed him up in practice again. Robin laughed at the thought of the older woman flipping Wally over her shoulder as if he were a rag-doll.

"Wally, calm down," Kaldur said.

"Why should I? You feel the same way…all of you do!" Wally retorted.

Curiosity getting the better of him, Robin got off the couch. He walked over to his circle of friends to see what the problem was. "Hey, what's going on?"

Wally looked over at him, a glare set into his features. "Like you don't know," he sneered.

Robin cocked an eyebrow at Wally's sudden tone. "No, I don't. Care to enlighten me?"

Kaldur pushed Wally aside, and came to stand in front of Robin. He looked quite serious, and Robin had a feeling he was not going to like he had to say. "Batman has forbidden us from going on anymore missions. Our team is to be disbanded."

Robin's frowned. "What? He didn't say anything about this to me. Why did he do that?"

"It was because of your injuries on the previous mission," Kaldur explained.

"That's ridiculous! I'll go talk to him," Robin said. He turned to go to the training room to use the computer monitors, but Wally jumped in front of him.

"That won't do any good. He was dead serious. Dude, this is your entire fault!" Wally shouted.

"How is it my fault? I didn't ask him to do that you know," Robin snapped.

"That maybe so but he did it because of you," Wally said, poking Robin in the chest with his index finger. "It's because you're nothing but a simple human. There's nothing special about you…nothing _super_ about you. You don't have any powers and you can't keep up with us." Wally said with a glare set into his features. "You're a _breakable_, immature thirteen year old kid."

Robin shoved Wally out of his way, not responding. He looked at the others around him, frowns set on each of their faces. They didn't say anything, but Robin could see in their eyes that they agreed with Wally.

"You have something to say too?" Robin asked venom laced every word he spoke. He was challenging them.

"We agree with Wally. You are not right for this team," Kaldur said.

"You're weak," Superboy added.

"And you're just holding us back," Megan concluded.

"See?" Wally said with a confident smirk on his face. "You're not needed here anymore."

Robin clenched his right fist. "Excuse me, but I've been at this longer than any of you have."

"Yeah, sure. But you've also been hospitalized more than any of us. You're holding us back because we have to spend time worrying about you, protecting you, and we're fed up," Wally said.

Robin looked down to the concrete floor. He was fuming, and trying to calm down. He didn't understand why his friends had suddenly decided to betray him, but he didn't like it. He wasn't useless, he wasn't weak, and he was going to prove it. Without any warning Robin spun and punched Wally in the jaw. The red head fell to the floor, cupping his cheek.

"I may not have powers, but I am not weak."

Wally just smiled a mocking smile. "Really?" He got up and was instantly standing face to face with Robin. "I beg to differ." He punched Robin hard and fast in the solar plexus, instantly knocking the breath out of Robin. He landed on his knee, gasping and coughing for breath. Blood seeped out of the corner of his mouth. The sides of his vision were dotted with specks of white and black threatening to encroach over his consciousness.

"We don't need you anymore," Wally spat.

Robin fell to the floor, there was a moment of darkness, and then suddenly he was lurching forward from his seat on the couch. He looked around the room, and saw his teammates sitting there watching the television quietly. Robin touched the spot on his stomach where he had been punched, but it didn't really hurt. There was just an echoing, phantom pain in his memory.

Robin leaned back into the couch. His teammates were watching him with concerned expressions as Robin was looking around the room with a confused face.

"You okay?" Superboy asked. He was sitting on the opposite side of the couch from Robin.

"Uh, that depends. Was I asleep just now?" Robin asked.

"Yeah, we tried not to wake you," Superboy answered.

"Oh, um thanks" Robin said.

"What's up, Rob? Wally asked. "You never fall asleep on the couch. Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah, I just dozed off from boredom I guess," he smiled, and picked up his laptop from the coffee table. "_I'm glad it was just a dream,_" Robin thought.

He opened his computer, but didn't do anything. Everything he had just seen had felt so real. Robin, even though he had the most experience and time as a hero, was always afraid of being kicked off the team. He didn't want to be rejected by his friends, especially Wally. Why did he suddenly have a dream about that?

Robin inwardly sighed. The nightmares had been a frequent thing with him recently, more so than usual. And with each one they kept getting progressively worse and more realistic. Every time he tried to sleep he would wake up sweating from some horrific, fearful scene.

"_Maybe I should tell Batman,_" Robin thought. "_I'm going to go crazy if this continues."_

But just then something clicked in his mind. All of the nightmares, and the one image of his mother he saw during training. "Ah, crud," Robin groaned. "I'm so stupid! I should have seen this from the start." Robin said out loud, he began pulling up different files on his laptop. They were records from Arkham Asylum.

"What's up, Rob?" Wally asked curiously because of Robin's outburst.

"Unfortunately I think I found a lead," Robin said. "I've got to go tell Batman." He rose from the couch holding his laptop, and practically ran into the Dark Knight.

"Oh well that saves time," Robin lightly laughed. "I need to speak with you."

"What is it?" Batman asked.

"We completely over looked this because he wasn't there, but I've got a feeling he's behind this," Robin turned the laptop to Batman to show him the files.

"Why do you think it's him? He's still locked up in Arkham," Batman said.

"You could say it's a gut feeling," Batman gave him a look that Robin knew all too well; the slight glare that Batman wasn't getting the desired information from Robin. He looked away from Batman not wanting to look him in the eyes. "I've been having nightmares…more than usual. They're there every time I sleep," Robin said quietly.

Batman narrowed his eyes at the teenager standing in front of him. "You should have told me sooner, Robin. Go wait in the medical lab for me," Batman instructed. Robin nodded and slowly proceeded out of the room. "The rest of you I have a mission assignment. Suit up and meet in the training room in ten minutes."

* * *

**Thanks again for the many reviews on the last chapter. I hope you like this one as well. I rewrote it five times until I came up with this one. Just to let you all know, I won't be able to post another chapter until after May 16th. I'm heading into the last two weeks of school, and I've got about four papers to write so all my time will be spent on those. I might be able to toss in a one-shot here and there though.  
**


	8. Chapter 8

The rest of the team stood in the living room idly, not knowing how to react to the scene that was just preformed in front of them. They were baffled by the events that just took place in such a short amount of time. Batman came in, Robin showed him something on his laptop, Batman made him leave, and then they were told to prepare for a mission. So, what exactly just happened?

Batman was about to follow after Robin, when Wally took a step forward. "What did Robin find?" He asked, although he sort of wished he didn't.

Batman narrowed his gaze at Wally. "He found a lead to the attempted heist on your last mission," Batman stated coldly.

"Like who was behind it?" Wally asked.

Batman nodded slightly. "It's not certain, but it's possible that the Scarecrow was the conspirator. Now, you can ask questions later. Hurry and suit up for your next assignment," Batman snapped, turned on his heel, and left the room. His cape trailed behind him, encompassing him into the shadows of the cave's halls.

"The Scarecrow? That is indeed something to fret over," Kaldur said.

"Who is the Scarecrow?" Megan asked looking confused, along with Superboy.

"He's a huge villain in Gotham City. I've only heard stories from Rob, but the dude is insane! He's a rogue psychiatrist and deals in everything to do with fears. He can make your worst nightmares come to life if you get hit with his special toxin, not to mention his appearance is scary in itself." Wally explained.

Megan gasped. "That sounds terrible."

"Yeah, well let's get going. Don't want to keep Bats waiting…he's scarier if you get him mad," Wally said, and dashed out of the room to get his uniform. The rest of the team dispersed to change, but the thought of the Scarecrow being behind this was a bit nerve-wracking for them all.

Meanwhile, Robin had slowly made his way to the medical lab. He should have known better than to keep those nightmares a secret, but he didn't think they were such a big deal. He's had nightmares before, and with his line of work that wasn't surprising. They were just dreams, and they couldn't hurt him. Yet after the one he just had he was beginning to think differently.

He dreamed that his friends had all betrayed him, even though the notion was clearly ridiculous. He was still somewhat shocked by that, but it wasn't real. He didn't have to worry about that because he knew they would never do something like that. Wally may have been cocky and high-strung at times, but he was sincere too. He was a loyal friend and wouldn't leave him behind.

Robin walked into the pristinely clean medical ward and took a seat on an examination table. He only had to wait a few minutes until Batman came walking in. Robin wanted to cringe at the sight of him, he was furious but his face remained stoic which only increased the effect of the anger in Robin's eyes.

Batman went to a cabinet and pulled out a syringe, and some anti-septic. He walked over to Robin and set the supplies out on a tray.

"Hold out your arm," Batman said. Robin complied and gave him his right one. Batman wiped the crease of his arm to sterilize it and then pushed the needle into the vein. Robin flinched; the needle did not slide in very smoothly. It was definitely going to bruise. Red liquid drained out into the small vile until it was full. Batman removed the needle and placed a gauze pad over the small puncture.

The two were silent as Batman placed some blood into the scanner to check for toxins. Robin watched him work silently. He wanted to say something, but he knew as soon as he opened his mouth the lecture would begin.

"You should have come to me if you were having problems, especially something like this," Batman said, breaking the silence first. "This could be potentially dangerous to you if there is in fact something in your blood."

"I know," Robin bowed his head. "I'm…I'm sorry."

"You were drugged during your last mission, and now you're saying that you are having nightmares. Not to mention the fact that you were hysterical with a hallucination that night. Although this doesn't seem to be as potent as his other toxins, there are signs of _his_ work here. You could be putting yourself in serious danger.

"I'm fine though, and it's just a few nightmares. Besides you didn't catch anything when you checked my blood before, right?"

"There were some unknown chemicals in your system, but their makeup should have allowed them to dissipate. I will double check though, just to be safe because it was an unidentifiable drug…homemade. If this is the work of the Scarecrow it could have become much worse," Batman said. He was slowly calming down, and Robin relaxed slightly.

"I'm sorry for getting upset with you. This wasn't your fault, and it could be that you're just having regular nightmares. However I just want to be sure. And I will be making a quick trip to Arkham to confirm Scarecrow is still locked up." Batman said. Robin nodded silently in agreement. "How does your shoulder feel?" Batman asked.

"It feels good. I can move it without any pain." Robin said, shrugging his shoulders to demonstrate his point.

"Good. You can stop wearing the sling then."

Robin smiled. "Great! I hate this thing," he said, and quickly took it off. He stretched his arms above his head. It felt good not to be restricted in the sling anymore.

"So, what's the mission assignment?" Robin asked, trying to change the subject.

"We've received intelligence that there will be an attempted robbery at the Bio-Chem lab just outside the city limits of Happy Harbor. It's well known for making products used in hospitals, but they also have a few experimental chemicals in their lab. I want the team to stake it out, and prevent any theft," Batman explained.

"Oh, sounds interesting," Robin said, though somewhat deflated. He wanted to go too, but he was still banned from missions to heal.

"Well I think you've spent enough time here. Hurry and suit up, you've got two minutes." Batman said a small smirk on his features.

Robin's face instantly lit up. He jumped down from the table, and ran out of the room with a shout of "Thanks!" echoing behind him.

Batman's gaze fell back onto the computer screen as the scanner continued to search for any signs of harmful contaminants in the blood. So far there was nothing, but he had to be absolutely positive. The scanner continued and Batman unwillingly turned his back to the screen. He left the medical lab to go to the mission room. He had to go debrief the team, but he would be back. He had to know that Robin would be safe.

Yet in the now empty medical lab the computer screen lit up. It was flashing, and a small signal alarm was going off.

* * *

**Well, finally another chapter is up. I am so sorry for the long wait, and the lack of action in this chapter. I've just been extremely busy with finals and moving out of my dorm. And then I lost the internet for a few days when I was ready to post. Ugh, but I finished this chapter. The next chapter will be more action-y. **


	9. Chapter 9

This was great! Robin hadn't been able to do any activities recently, and he missed training. Most people groaned when it came to working out, but not him. He would willingly spend hours in the gym working on everything from cardio to sparring drills. He loved the feeling of pushing his body to its limits and how it gave him the ability to do amazing feats many people could only dream of accomplishing.

Robin hastily entered his room and went to his wardrobe. He quickly grabbed the pieces of his suit, and began putting them on. As he slid his Teflon tunic over his body he couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. He normally wasn't so caught up in the moment, but for some reason today he just felt happy to be alive. He was going to be a part of the team once more, and they weren't leaving him behind for something important. Robin finally slid off his sunglasses and put on his domino mask. He smiled briefly when he caught his reflection in the mirror as he exited his temporary bedroom.

Robin ran down the halls of Mount Justice towards the mission room. It felt so good to be back in uniform, he could finally do something worthwhile with his time. He rounded the corner into the large room, and saw his teammates all dressed up and ready to go. Batman was standing in front of one of the holographic computer screens preparing to explain the mission to the team.

"Good, just in time," Robin said. His teammates looked back at him with surprised faces. They definitely weren't expecting him to come along.

"Rob! You're here!" Wally said and ran over to greet his friend. "Are you coming too?" Wally asked.

"Of course. I couldn't miss something like this," Robin smirked.

"We're happy to have you along," Kaldur said. "Welcome back."

"Thanks," Robin said happily.

Batman cleared his throat, gaining the attention of the teenagers once more. They all faced front and watched as Batman pulled up a map and pictures of a few buildings. "You will be going here tonight," he said pointing to a tall, seven story building. "This is a Bio-Chem facility and we have reason to believe it is being targeted tonight. I want you to set up a perimeter from the nearby buildings, and two of you will remain on the targeted one. If you see any suspicious activity, call me or the League. If a theft is issued, do not let them escape. Is that clear?" Batman asked.

The team nodded their understanding, and mumbled "Yes, sir."

"Very well. Head to the landing bay for departure," Batman instructed. They all turned and began to leave the room. However, Batman caught Robin by his shoulder before he could leave.

Robin turned toward his mentor. "What's up?"

"Just be careful," Batman warned. "Call me if anything starts to go wrong, or if you feel unable to go on with the mission," Batman said, and released Robin from his light grip.

"I won't need to call you. I perfectly fine," Robin said, and smiled. But Batman didn't bite.

"Promise me you will call," he said more sternly.

"Okay, I promise."

"Thank you, now head up to the landing bay before they leave without you," Batman said with a slight smile, and let his young protégé run off.

As Robin approached the Bio-ship everyone was waiting for him. They smiled as he entered the hangar, and he ran over to them eager to get on the ship.

"Come on, let's go!" he shouted, and laughed as he ran past them and up the ramp of the ship.

The others laughed at his excited demeanor and followed Robin aboard the ship. Once everyone was seated Megan signaled the Bio-ship to take off. It would only take twenty minutes to get to their destination.

"Alright, so what's our strategy?" Robin asked once they were airborne.

They all looked at him, as if it were odd for him to be sitting there. Last time he was in the ship he looked like death warmed over. Now he was practically bouncing in his seat with anticipation of the assignment. It was regular behavior for him though, and not unwelcomed. They were all happy to see Robin finally acting normally, and yet there were still the nagging thoughts of concern eating at the team. They just wanted to be positive that he was up for the mission…however minor it may be.

"What?" Robin asked, as all he got were stares.

"Are you sure you're up to this, Rob," Wally asked, speaking what everyone else was thinking.

Robin turned to look at Wally over his shoulder. "Of course I am. I feel great, and I was going stir crazy being locked down in the cave."

"Okay, as long as you're sure."

"So, what's our plan of attack?" Robin asked once more.

"Well, initially what Batman told us. We'll station three around the nearby buildings, and two on the targeted one. Everyone will remain on surveillance until anything happens…if anything happens," Kaldur explained. "Miss Martian, can you keep us in telepathic contact once we reach our target?"

"Sure," She said happily.

Kaldur nodded. "Good."

"We've arrived. The ship has been placed in camouflage mode above the target," Megan announced. Then a hole in the floor of the ship opened up, allowing the team to drop down and out to their respective points.

"So who wants which building?" Robin asked, crouching down next to the hatch.

"I'll take one of the surrounding ones," Superboy said, speaking up for the first time.

"Very well. How about Wally and Megan take the other two? Robin and I will remain here on the targeted one." Kaldur suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Wally said. Megan agreed.

"Alright, let's go already!" Robin said. He was waiting to jump down, already hooked into his tether line.

"Okay, everyone take your places and keep on the lookout for suspicious behavior." Kaldur instructed, yet before his last words were uttered, the Boy Wonder had hopped out of the ship, his laughter floating up behind him.

* * *

**I'm so sorry for the long wait, but here's a new chapter for you. Thanks again for all of the fantastic reviews on this story so far. They are greatly appreciated!  
**


	10. Chapter 10

They really needed to stop calling these missions "simple and routine". Nothing was ever just simple for them; something was always bound to happen. That was just how their luck worked, and what would make tonight any different?

The full moon was bright in the evening sky, casting its light down upon the city. The night was clear, which would have been good for any other night except this one. It left the young team out in the open more, making them rely on the small amount of shadows the rooftops provided. Luckily the rooftops had large ventilation systems or air conditions to make a shadow cover.

Robin landed on the roof lightly and detached himself from the jump line of the Bio-ship. He crouched into a ready stance just to keep aware of his surroundings, and then slunk into the darkness near the roof's exit door. Kaldur followed suit a moment later, dropping quietly onto the roof, but had lost sight of Robin during the drop from the ship. The rest of the team had already positioned themselves on their intended buildings. They each set up their surveillance and readied for a long stake out.

"Megan, establish a mental link please," Kaldur called out to her.

"Got it. Everyone here?" She asked. Everyone replied with a mental yes.

"Robin, where did you go?" Kaldur asked.

"If you walk straight about ten paces, you'll see me," Robin said. Kaldur followed his instructions and found Robin connecting his holo-computer to an electrical grid.

"What are you doing?" Kaldur questioned, watching as Robin did the impossible on his small wrist-computer.

"Making sure all the alarms are functioning, and checking the buildings heat and motion sensors. So far there are only five people in the building, that would be the guards," Robin announced. He then tried to connect to the video feed in the lab that was supposedly being targeted, but then his computer started beeping. He pulled up another screen,"Wait…what? That can't be right," Robin started tapping at his holo-computer, a frustrated expression on his face.

"What is it?"

"Three additional heat signatures appeared in the middle of the building. Miss M, KF…did anyone enter the facility?"

"Negative, Rob," Kid responded.

"What… now there are six?" Robin was cut off by a screeching as the alarms were triggered. "Well at least that's working. They must have jammed the signals for the heat sensors before. Uh, they're coming up the steps and fast. Take your positions, the perimeter has been breached!"

Robin and Kaldur moved into the shadows and waited for the intruders to come out through the door. They would attack them before they were seen. "Almost here," Robin thought to the rest of the team. The door swung open and six black clad figures moved out onto the roof. "Now!" Robin shouted mentally. He reached into his utility belt for two bolos and threw them at the crowd of trespassers. One missed, but the second caught onto the guy sending him to the ground.

Kaldur also knocked out one, but the rest paid no attention to the fallen men, and kept running forward to the rooftops edge. "They're going to get away!" Robin shouted, but he knew his team wouldn't let him down.

"We're coming," Superboy said.

"Robin, behind you!" Kaldur yelled. Robin tried to turn around but was smacked in the back, and sent tumbling to the ground. He rolled over quickly only to come face to face with a grinning figure. The Scarecrow. His face was covered with dark burlap, but his mouth and eyes were visible. He was tall and wiry, but still muscular. He wore black tattered clothes, and flat-brimmed hat, and a noose hung around his neck. He was an intimidating sight, a creature that normal people only saw on Halloween nights. A thing of nightmares…nightmares that he created.

"Ah, well if it isn't the Boy Wonder of Gotham City," he sneered, holding a staff in the palms of his hands. "I've been wondering if I would run into you anytime soon, although I must say I'm surprised to see you out here."

Robin quickly jumped up, and took a defensive position. His heart was suddenly pounding; it was hard to hear anything over the thump of its erratic beat. Normally he wouldn't care, but tonight was different. He was starting to feel…scared. No, he needed to stay focused, especially dealing with the Scarecrow. _"Stay calm"_ he thought to himself.

"I see you're up to your same old tricks," Robin said.

"Not exactly, my boy. I've got bigger plans in store this time," Scarecrow inched closer to Robin, but he kept moving back. "It's definitely going to be a sight to see. Gotham is going to love what I have in store for them," Scarecrow laughed.

"Shame the party is going to end here though," Robin countered.

"Indeed," Scarecrow swung his staff at Robin trying to sweep his feet out from under him. Robin saw it coming and did a back-flip, but he ran out of room to move. He was near the edge of the roof with nowhere to go. He jumped up on the ledge hoping the slight height advantage would benefit him. Scarecrow continued to advance forward. Robin kicked Scarecrow, and caught him in the shoulder, and then readied himself for a second kick, yet the unthinkable happened. Scarecrow turned and caught Robin's foot in his hand.

"I've had enough of this game," Scarecrow hissed, and then with a sly grin he shoved Robin's foot away. It resulted in the Robin losing his balance. He didn't even have time to react as he unwillingly dove head first over the edge of the rooftop.

He might have screamed, but he wasn't sure. Usually something like this would be a regular thing, use the grappling hook, fasten it to another building or light post, and move back up onto the roof. However his mind wasn't functioning like that. It was paralyzed, and the only thought he could muster up was how his body would look in ten seconds as it smacked the concrete sidewalk. He reached out and by some force of sheer will, and was able to grab onto a window ledge. His body hit the wall with a thud, and his cheek was scraped by the rough bricks, but for the moment he was still alive.

Red flashed in front of his eyes. Blood, pain, death, the only things he could think of. He was going to fall. He was going to die.

"Robin!" Megan shouted mentally. "Calm down! Your thoughts are too loud. I had to sever the mental link."

He heard her, but he was able to respond, even mentally. He was still trying to get himself back up onto the ledge, but his body was shaking, and his shoulder hurt from when he caught himself. He looked down to judge the distance to the ground, but that was a mistake. The ground below him stretched out infinitely; if he dropped he would just fall forever.

"Oh God, this can't be happening," He muttered. _I can't fall, not like them. I don't want to die._ His fingers were slipping, or maybe the rock was crumbling. He couldn't tell, all he knew was he couldn't last much longer on the ledge.

His hand finally let go, and he began his descent once more. He felt an impact, but rather than hurting and ending his life, it felt familiar. He opened his eyes, and found that Batman had caught him. They landed on the ground softly, and Batman put Robin down and he instantly sunk to his knees.

Robin was still in a state of shock. He looked up at Batman in disbelief, and tried to catch his breath. He had started to hyperventilate without realizing it.

"Robin, you're safe. It's okay," Batman said softly. Robin nodded, and slowly returned his breathing to normal.

"Robin, what happened?" Batman asked.

"I-I don't know. The Scarecrow…he was there. I fought him, and then somehow he pushed me over the edge, and I couldn't think straight. I-I was so scared…and all I could think about was falling, and I kept seeing _them _over and over again," he looked up at Batman, sadness and fright etched into his features. "I…I thought I was going to die," Robin sobbed. He hid his face in his hands. His shoulders began to shake as he cried harder. He didn't care anymore, he couldn't stop.

"Robin, it's okay," Batman repeated. "You're alive, and I'm here now. I won't let anything happen to you," He held the boy closer to him, embracing him tightly in his arms. Death still clutched Robin's thoughts, but it was slowly fading away.

* * *

**Finally an update. I sincerely apologize for it being so very late. I hope that this chapter is okay, and if you have any suggestions let me know. Thanks for all the wonderful reviews, and the people who kept asking for updates. It helps a lot!  
**


	11. Chapter 11

The rest of the team had watched the scene unfold from the rooftops. They all heard Robin shout both in their minds and in the air as he was tossed off the roof. It had distracted them from the fight, and did not go without its consequences. Kid Flash had been cut on the arm with a knife, and Miss Martian nearly passed out from the amount of emotional distress in everyone's thoughts. Robin could have easily saved himself, but something was wrong, and no one was available to help him since they were each battling their own thieves. Luckily Aqualad had signaled Batman once the thieves had come out on the roof. Unfortunately they had only apprehended two of the six villains, and the Scarecrow disappeared almost as quickly as he appeared.

"Oh no, Rob!" Kid Flash shouted and ran to the edge of the rooftop once he was free.

"Is he okay?" Superboy asked, following him.

"Looks like…Batman saved him. We are in so much trouble…again!"

They could see Batman down on one knee next to Robin who was sitting on the sidewalk. They couldn't tell what they were saying, but it was obvious something was off.

"Thanks goodness Robin is safe," Megan whispered.

"Yeah," Wally quickly agreed. "The Scarecrow is the creepiest villain I have ever seen. No wonder people are afraid of him,"

Megan looked up at where her ship was waiting, and then back down to the streets. "Perhaps we should go down and see Robin. I'm worried about him."

"No," Kaldur shook his head. "We should wait until Batman calls for us."

Megan nodded and resigned to wait with the rest of the team. They waited on the rooftop for what felt like hours…at least that's what Wally was complaining about. He kept pacing and checking on their suspects to make sure their bindings were still intact. But really the only thought running through his mind was of his teammate. He wanted to know if Robin was alright.

What could possibly be keeping Batman and Robin from returning to the top of the building?

After a few more moments, there was finally radio contact. "Batman to Miss Martian…can you bring the bio-ship down to street level."

"Yes, of course. Should we bring the villains aboard?"

"No, I will take care of them. You will return to the mountain," Batman instructed.

"Yes sir," she replied, and relayed the message to the team. "We should go quickly."

"Agreed," Kaldur said. They boarded the ship, except for Megan. She flew down to the street and guided the vessel to land telepathically.

Batman was supporting Robin around the shoulders, and it seemed as if the kid would keel over at any second. But what was worse was how upset Robin was. It wasn't apparent on his face, but his emotions were so tangible that Megan could almost reach out and grasp them in her hands. It was to be expected though. When Robin fell she saw every thought that raced through his mind. She did not fully understand it, but it was something she needed to talk to him about.

"Miss Martian, take Robin back to the mountain and escort him the med bay," Batman said quietly. "Red Tornado will be waiting to assist you when you arrive."

"Are you hurt Robin?" Megan asked, looking over Robin. He shook his head no, but didn't say anything other than that.

"Okay," she held out her hand to him. "Let's go back." Robin tentatively took her hand, his own was shaking slightly, and they walked on the ship together. He glanced back over his shoulder, but Batman was already gone. He hung his head down and trailed behind Megan.

As they entered the haul of the ship the rest of the team watched them enter, but kept silent. "Aqualad, will you fly the ship back to the mountain, please?"

"Of course," Aqualad responded.

Megan converted the ship so that it could be flown without telepathic control. "Robin, will you come with me for a minute, please?"

"Um, sure," Robin said. He followed her to the back of the ship. Megan made two extra seats where they could sit down.

"I, um, need to talk to you about you about something," Megan started.

"What's wrong?" Robin asked quietly.

"About earlier…during the fight I saw something. When you fell…"Megan stopped as she noticed Robin flinch slightly. "I saw images from your mind. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude, but you were in so much distress they leaked through the barrier that is normally in place," Megan said solemnly.

"What exactly did you see?"

"I'm not quite sure. When you fell from the roof, I briefly saw two people falling as well. There were no sounds, except for you screaming. And then I think I saw…" she didn't want to say. Robin looked too upset. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," Robin let out a shaky breath. "My parents were murdered…they fell to their deaths a few years ago. The memory came back to me when I fell. I was scared senseless. I couldn't think straight, I thought I was going to die myself," he whispered.

Megan pulled him into a hug. He tensed but finally relaxed into it. "I'm sorry, Robin."

They stayed like that for a few minutes, and then an announcement sounded throughout the ship alerting them to their arrival at the cave.

Robin stood up from his seat, but his knees felt too weak to support him anymore. Megan realized he was struggling to stand, and quickly wrapped her arm around his waist, taking most of his weight.

"I got you," she said.

"Thanks."

They left the ship together. The rest of the team, as expected, was waiting for them by the ship's ramp. Kaldur was discussing something with Red Tornado, but their conversation was hushed.

"Rob!" Wally said once he saw him coming down from the ship.

"Hey," he said with huff, almost as if it were too tiring to speak.

"Are you okay?" Wally asked. He walked over to him and helped Megan support him.

Robin shook his head slightly. "I don't know. I feel like I got hit by a planet or something."

Red Tornado approached the small group. "You need to go to the medical wing."

"Why?"

"Batman does not wish for me to tell you the details until he arrives back at the cave, but your health is in danger," Red Tornado explained.

Robin frowned. He had suspected as much, but he didn't want to admit anything. He knew that everything that had been happening to him recently (the dreams and hallucinations) were not normal. And after tonight he was certain that he knew why. He had never felt so scared, and at the moment anxiety was still fluttering around in his chest.

"I was poisoned, right?" He asked. "That night in the warehouse…those men were working for Scarecrow. He got me. It wasn't just a sedative, it was his fear toxin."

Robin waited for the android to reply. The quiet only reflecting the anxiety he felt, and his heart was about to burst. He could hear its beat in his ears.

"Yes, I am sorry, but you are correct."

"How do we fix it?" Superboy spoke up.

"You can't," Robin answered. "You just have to ride it out most of the time."

"What do you mean by most of the time?"

Robin looked down at the ground, and took a steadying breath. "Sometimes your fears can literally scare you to death."

"Come, we must move on to the medical ward. I need to check your blood pressure, and pulse rate," Red Tornado said and walked out of the hangar.

The team followed him. Megan and Wally helped Robin slowly walk to the other side of the cave. He didn't say anything as he was lost in thought.

"Hey man, everything will turn out okay. You'll see," Wally said smiling at his friend.

"Yeah, we'll help you through this," Megan added.

"I know you will. Thanks," he offered them a small smile.

They led Robin into the medical ward where surprisingly Batman was waiting for them with Red Tornado. Batman was adjusting the instruments, next to one of the hospital beds. Megan and Wally placed Robin on the bed and backed away so that Batman could work.

"I thought you were interrogating those criminals," Robin said.

"I let Black Canary take over for the moment."

Batman placed the pressure cuff around Robin's bicep, and clipped the pulse monitor on his middle finger. He looked at the small computer screen for the results. His frown deepened and Robin tensed.

"What? What is it?" Robin asked trying to look at the screen too.

"Calm down," Batman put his hands on Robin's shoulders to keep him on the bed. "You have high blood pressure, and an accelerated heart beat."

"It's the toxin."

Batman nodded. Red Tornado had informed him that Robin had figured out what was wrong. "Yes I know."

"Do you know how to fix it?"

"Not yet. I do know how it works though. So I will try to synthesize an anti-toxin."

"How does it work?" Wally asked. He was sitting on the other bed. Red Tornado was tending to the cut he received in the fight earlier.

"When adrenaline is released it triggers the toxin. The toxin attacks the endorphins, and instead of feeling good it creates fear. Each time the effect becomes stronger making the fear stronger. If Robin has another…adrenaline rush, it will not turn out well."

"Then that's simple right. Just keep him out of the field until we fix the problem."

"No Wally, even the smallest amount of excitement can be dangerous. So until I get an antidote Robin, you need to keep relaxed and stay calm," Batman said. He then walked over to the medicine cabinet in the corner. "I'm going to give you a mild sedative, okay?"

Robin nodded. "Sure, but why?"

Batman swabbed the crook of his arm with alcohol and then filled the syringe. The needle then pierced his skin, and the fluid was injected into his bloodstream. "If your heart rate gets any faster you'll…"

Robin looked at Batman with wide eyes. "Go into cardiac arrest," Robin finished.

"Yes," Batman patted Robin's shoulder. His expression revealed that he was obviously worried. "But don't worry. I'll fix everything."

"Okay," Robin whispered. Exhaustion and the sedative had overwhelmed him, and he drifted off into sleep.

Batman pulled a blanket up over Robin, and then moved to the exit. The team was waiting there, concern for Robin etched onto their faces. But there was also determination to help him as well.

"What can we do to help?" Kaldur asked, stepping forward.

Batman turned and started walking towards the center of the cave. "Come with me. We have work to do."

* * *

**It's obviously been a while since I updated this, so I tried to make this chapter a little longer than the others. Sorry about the wait. I hope you enjoy it! I will definitely make sure its not months until the next update!  
**

**P.S. Anyone else excited for the new Young Justice episodes airing next week? I AM! It's on my birthday too. I saw a preview for it and it looks interesting. I love Captain Marvel, and I saw this really cute picture of Superboy holding a little kid and smiling. :)  
**


	12. Chapter 12

It's said that sleep is the best medicine for a sick person, but not when your sickness is induced by a psychotic, mind-manipulating criminal. But then again who could predict anything that would happen when dealing with Scarecrow.

The clock on the wall ticked the seconds by at an agonizing pace. Robin couldn't see it, but he could hear it. The sound had entered his dreams and fell in rhythm with the beat of his heart. It felt as if the thing was mocking him, trying to remind him that he didn't have much time left. He knew that already, he didn't need inanimate objects rubbing it in.

Robin needed to wake up, he couldn't sleep anymore. The dreams were fine, he could handle the somewhat disturbing images that they brought on, but if the nightmares started he would be in trouble. Batman said adrenaline was the key to activating the toxin, but since he had bad dreams on a regular basis they were made even worse with the poison coursing through his system.

"_Wake up," _he thought. He tried to open his eyes, but he could feel that they were heavy. His body was tired, and the sedative was weighing down his consciousness. He was in that state that hovered between wakefulness and sleep. Robin fought against it, he needed to get up. If he fell back into that darkness he was afraid he would never be able to leave it again.

He forced his eyes open at last, noting that his vision was blurred from the drugs. He looked around the med bay and found it empty. That didn't surprise him, but he felt the compelling urge to get up and run. He slowly sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, and got to his feet. Robin's legs felt like they were tied down by lead weights and his chest felt tight. Robin took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. He couldn't get worked up; there was nothing in the cave that could hurt him anyway. Even though Robin told himself that, he still needed to move forward. He had to find Batman.

Robin walked out into the hall and headed for the core of the mountain. He knew Batman would most likely be there working, he wouldn't go back to the Batcave now. Or at least that's what Robin was hoping. Batman wouldn't leave him behind at this point, would he? No, of course not. Robin shook his head trying to rid his mind of negative thoughts. He needed to stay focused.

The hall came to an end and opened up into the core, but Robin stayed back in the dark. He didn't want them to see him up and about because they would just send him straight back to his hospital bed. Robin could see the entire team, and relief flooded through him. They were all standing behind Batman as he worked on the computers. It was sort of strange to see Batman working with an audience. Normally, he would do things by himself. That's just who Batman was. He worked in the shadows, and let very few people in.

Robin watched as Batman worked, trying to figure out what he was up to. He had been feeding information into the computer, and images began to come up on the screens. One of them was the Scarecrow, and it sent shivers through Robin. The rest were unfamiliar men. In the other corner were weapons. The team watched silently as Batman worked since they never really witnessed the Dark Knight at work before other than briefings.

"From what I gathered since you apprehended the two men on the roof, this is the gang that has been working with Scarecrow." Batman said, highlighting mug-shots of at least thirty different men. "And this man is the leader of the gang, Leon Keys." He pulled up one more mugshot of a large man, and a scar running up the side of his face.

Robin gasped. "He's the one that attacked me on our mission in the warehouse."It shouldn't have surprised him; he already knew everything was connected. Plus that man was the one that injected him with the stupid toxin in the first place. But he still felt the slightest panic at seeing his face.

Superboy turned around at hearing Robin's voice. "Robin, are you okay?" He looked concerned and alerted everyone else to the new presence in the room.

"Uh, yeah for the most part I'm okay."

"What are you doing here, you should be asleep." Batman said watching Robin carefully.

"I can't," he responded quietly.

Batman walked over to him. "Why not?"

"If I do…I'm afraid I won't be able to wake up again. I'm not safe in my dreams either," He explained, avoiding eye contact with Batman. He didn't want Batman to send him away; he couldn't be alone right now.

"Okay, I understand. What would you like to do instead?" Batman asked and he got strange looks from everyone in the room. Batman was being nice?

Robin laughed lightly at everyone's expressions, and it took some of the tension his body was feeling away. "You do know that he's human right? He can be kind if wants." Batman smiled ever so slightly at Robin. "Can I just stay in here? I want to help if I can."

"Yes, but you should sit down. The sedative I gave you hasn't worn off all the way, correct? You're fighting it?" Batman asked.

Robin sighed, and slid to the ground sitting against the wall. "Yeah, a bit."

Batman returned to the keyboards and brought up the bio of Leon Keys. "As I was saying before this man is the leader of the group, and is now affiliated with Scarecrow. It went by unassociated with Scarecrow because of his record sheet."

"Robin said he attacked him at the warehouse," Superboy said.

"When did he say that?" Batman asked.

"In the hall a few minutes ago. I guess it was too quiet for you to hear, but that's how I knew he was there," Superboy explained.

"Is he the one that had the ring?" Batman asked Robin.

"Yeah."

"Do you think the attack was planned then?" Kaldur asked. "It does not seem reasonable that he would carry the ring with such an abusive toxin for any ordinary person."

"I agree. They could have been expecting the League, or even me since they were near Gotham," Batman said.

"And since we were there instead they got Rob. It makes sense. If they couldn't get to Batman, why not his partner instead." Wally added. He turned and saw Robin glaring at him. "Sorry, Rob. I didn't mean anything by it but the criminals do know that you work with Batman. That's what you're famous for."

"I know. I just don't like to hear that I fell into a trap. It's so…embarrassing."

"It's not your fault," Batman interjected. "If I had known about it I wouldn't have sent the team on that mission."

"So what do think they're trying to do?" Wally asked.

"By now we have enough information to figure out what their plan is, it's just when they are going to execute it is the problem."

Superboy looked at him questioningly. "And what exactly is their plan?"

"The Scarecrow obviously intends to release his toxin into the city. The robbery you stopped on your last mission in the warehouse, he managed to get a hold of a supply of military issue grenade launchers. He's going to use those to disperse the toxin."

"What about the Bio-chem facility?" Megan inquired. "He was there. Did he take anything?"

"Yes, a chemical that would serve as a bonding agent was taken from the lab," Batman pulled up a diagram of the chemical on the screen. "If the toxin is inhaled then it could attach to the nervous system, and the illusions would be even stronger and possibly permanent."

Wally looked at the chemical shown on the screen, his eyes growing wide. "Not only that, it could make the toxin so strong it could kill people the moment it got into their systems if it was bonded the right way. It would just shut down their nervous systems."

Batman glared back at the screen Wally was looking at. He then pulled up satellite images of Gotham City. Batman growled in frustration. "They moved the diplomatic conference in City Hall tonight. It starts in two hours. How did I miss this? If Scarecrow really wants to wreak havoc, he will hit tonight."

"Batman," Robin called out. His head was tilted back against the wall, a grimace on his face. His hand was resting on his chest, as if he were attempting to relieve some pain.

Batman rushed to his side and bent down next to him. "What's wrong?" He asked calmly. He didn't want to alarm Robin, and upset him further. How had he gone downhill so fast in only a few minutes?

"All of a sudden…my chest," he gasped. "I can't breathe, and my heart…hurts," he whispered.

Batman took his pulse, but it wasn't too fast. "Robin, you're okay. Its anxiety, you were just over thinking things. Try to calm down. Remember those meditation techniques I taught you when you were younger?" Robin nodded slightly. "Try the breathing one."

He did as he was told. Each breath he took was shaky, like he was struggling to get air into his lungs. But they slowly started to even out, and his body began to relax. Robin began to breathe at a steady, rhythmic pace.

"Good, just keep breathing. You are strong enough to get through this," Batman told him. He held Robin against his side, hoping that it would comfort him.

"How are you so sure?"

"Because I believe in you. You can do the most amazing things, and you will win this battle. Just don't give up."

Robin smiled ever so slightly. "Okay, but I think having the antidote would help a lot."

"Yes, it would. Don't worry, we'll get it." Batman rose from the ground and helped Robin up too. He kept an arm wrapped around him protectively just in case Robin wasn't quite steady on his feet.

"Miss Martian, prepare your Bio-ship and head out for Gotham City immediately. I will meet you at the top of the Wayne Enterprises."

"Yes sir." She replied and moved toward the hangar.

"See ya in a bit, Rob!" Wally shouted as he ran out of the room. Robin knew that it was his way of showing he cared. In fact he could see it written all over the faces of his teammates before they left the room even though they didn't say anything, and it gave him some hope.

"Come on, you should probably sit down on the couch." Batman walked Robin into the common room and placed him on the sofa. He kneeled down so that he was eye level with him. "Be strong. This will all be over soon."

"I know," Robin responded. "And afterwards can we do something together, you know without the uniforms?" Robin asked pulling at the R symbol on his chest for emphasis.

"Yes, we can definitely do that. Would you like the team along too?"

Robin looked surprised. "Really?"

"Sure, I think they've proven themselves. We'll talk about it more later, alright?" Batman patted him on the knee and stood up. "I'll be back before you know it." He said and then he walked out.

Robin watched until he couldn't see him anymore. He was happy about what Batman had just said; he would be able to finally hang out with his friends as Dick Grayson. As he sat alone on the couch though the happiness slowly started to fade away and his eyes wandered around the common room. He spotted the clock on the table on the other side of the sofa, and watched the numbers move by. The minutes felt as if they were going by faster now. Robin wondered, exactly how much time did he have left?

* * *

**I hope that the wait wasn't too long this time. I tried to get this up as fast as I could because it's getting pretty close to the end now. Let me know what you think about this chapter. I wasn't too sure about the interactions between Batman and Robin sometimes...maybe too much emotion, I don't know. I mean he does love Robin as a son, but he's also the Dark Knight...I tried to keep that image intact. Oh well. I hope as the reader you like the chapter anyway. **

**P.S. (Spoilers...kind of)  
There's a new episode on Saturday (Clips were released yesterday by CN and can be seen on Youtube) and it has Beast Boy before he got his powers! I am so freaking excited! He's such a cute kid. Plus Superboy and a monkey. I can't wait :)  
**


	13. Chapter 13

What was a soldier supposed to do when he is taken off the battlefield? Robin mused over this question in his mind as he sat on the couch, staring at the blank television screen. Apparently the answer was to sit by idly and watch TV while he waited for his heart to explode from the stress of fear and anxiety. But sitting still wasn't something Robin liked to do.

After Batman left Robin had been watching the clocks so hard that he thought he would need to be thrown in Arkham Asylum afterwards. It couldn't have been more than ten minutes that he was sitting on the couch, but he couldn't take it anymore. Robin picked up the clock and smashed it against the cave's wall just because it was practically driving him insane. He already knew he was living on borrowed time, and the sounds of the clocks were just making it worse.

Robin got up off the couch deciding that he needed a change of scenery. The room tilted to the side as he got to his feet, and the shadows warped in front of his eyes. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He felt better as long as he concentrated on his breathing. The anxiety seemed to come in waves, and if he didn't think about what was happening too much he could probably survive the poison. But he could feel that his reality was starting to slowly warp into permanent hallucinations, and he wasn't sure how much longer he could handle it before the toxin consumed him.

"Shut up, Grayson. Stop thinking like that." He murmured aloud.

He walked into the kitchen and grabbed a glass from the cabinet. He turned on the sink, filling the cup with cool water and leaned against the counter. Robin shook his head trying to chase away the touches of anxiety creeping up on him. The glass in his hand was almost forgotten, and started to overflow so he quickly shut off the tap. Robin took a small sip from the glass hoping the cold would help distract his mind. Instantly he spat the liquid out into the sink gagging.

"What was that?" he shouted aloud, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He looked back at the glass and found nothing except clear water, but what he tasted was completely different. He thought there was blood there for a moment. He could still taste the metallic tinge on his tongue.

"Man, I'm losing it."

"Robin," he jumped at the sound of his name, dropping the glass on the ground. It shattered upon impact sending water and glass across the floor. He saw Red Tornado standing in the kitchen entrance.

"I apologize. I did not mean to startle you. Is there a problem?" he asked.

"U-uh no. I'm doing okay." Robin said backing away from the sink.

"Perhaps you should go rest. You look unwell." Red Tornado said moving closer to him.

Robin didn't respond. He was trying to figure out what Red Tornado had just said. His thoughts were clouded, and his hearing seemed to shut down suddenly. He saw the robot advancing towards him, and he suddenly felt cornered. He needed to get away from him. So before he even realized what he was doing he dashed out of kitchen using the exit opposite of Red Tornado.

Robin was back in the common room, but he couldn't stay there. Every rational thought was being consumed by the sudden fear that was engulfing him. So he ran to the zeta tubes and punched in a code, any code that would take him away from the cave.

Red Tornado had entered the room once more, and Robin saw him over his shoulder just as he jumped into the light of the zeta beams. A moment later he was in the old telephone booth in an alley of Gotham City. He slumped against the side of the booth, trying to settle down.

Once he felt that he was stable enough to move Robin stepped outside. Closing his eyes he counted to ten listening to the familiar sounds of the crowded city. His mind cleared up and he looked around, slightly disoriented. The cool air calmed him down more and he managed to get a better hold of his senses. He groaned in frustration. "I was so freaked I came to Gotham. Batman is not going to be happy about that."

He wasn't supposed to be out of the cave or running around for that matter, but there was nothing he could do. It wasn't his fault. This whole episode, however strange, was triggered by getting up for a glass of water. There was no point in going back to the cave now, he needed this to end in the next hour or he might not see tomorrow.

"What should I do now?" He murmured and looked up at the skyline. Since the Zeta beam exit was in the old phone booth in Gotham it was only a few blocks from Wayne Enterprises. That meant Robin would have to use his grappling gun and go across the rooftops to get anywhere close to the tower and City Hall.

"This is probably not going to end well." Robin muttered to himself. He retrieved his grappling gun from his utility belt, and launched it up to the roof. Making sure it was secure he took a deep breath, clicked the button to retract and was pulled up to the top of the building.

Once up to the top he did a double check. "Okay, that wasn't so bad." He then looked out to the distance he had to cross. Normally it would be nothing, in fact it would be a routine night in Gotham with Batman, but now it seemed like the longest distance he would ever cross.

"Or not. This might be harder than I thought" Robin said and then tentatively launched himself onto the next roof.

At the same time the rest of the team was making their way to Gotham City too. Ever since the bio-ship took off from the hangar, the team sat in silence taking everything in. Their mission was going to be the most important thing they have ever done as a team, not only because so many lives were at stake but because the life of their friend was on the line. The condition of Robin was weighing down heavily upon them. They had watched him in the mountain, suffering from the drug, and it broke their hearts to see him in such pain. This mission had no room for failure.

"I have never seen Batman act so…concerned before," Kaldur said breaking the quiet that had enveloped the ship. "I suppose it is only natural since they are partners, and surely we all feel the same way, but it certainly was strange."

"It was almost as if he was a different person," Superboy added.

"But his feelings were genuine." Megan interjected. "Robin was scared even though he didn't exactly show it and Batman…he was scared too. Or more like he was worried for Robin."

"It's like Rob said, Bat's is human too." Wally shrugged. "Besides it's not so strange…I mean seeing it sure, but Batman and Robin are all each other have. They are more than partners, they're family and if you think about it that way, his attitude was normal."

"Did Batman help Robin after his parents passed away?" Megan asked.

Wally looked at her wide-eyed. "How did you know that?"

She looked away from Wally, shy to admit what had happened. "I…accidently saw it when I had the mental link up on our last mission. I did not wish to intrude so I discussed it with him on the ride back and then he told me what it meant." She said quietly, and then looked back to the team in front of her. "Batman is like a father to him now, right?"

"Yeah." Wally nodded. "So we gotta do whatever we can to save him."

The team nodded their agreements. The determination was clear on their faces. "ETA is five minutes until we are above Wayne Enterprises." Megan announced. "Oh… there's also an incoming message from Robin."

"Hey guys," Robin's voice echoed through the haul.

"What's up, Rob? You okay?" Wally asked at hearing his friend. He could tell there was something wrong by the tone of his voice.

"You know I'm hanging in there." He said and then paused. "Look, could you guys do me a favor?"

"Sure. What do you need?" Wally asked.

"A ride." Robin said. Everyone turned to each other with surprised expressions on their faces.

"Are you not in the cave Robin?" Kaldur asked.

"Uh no. I…I had a panic attack and ran away. I didn't realize where I was going until I got here. I know it was stupid, but…"

"It's okay, Rob." Wally interrupted him. "We get it."

"I tracked the ship on my computer; you're about thirty seconds from my position. I'm up on the roof." Robin announced.

Superboy looked out the window and Wally pulled his goggles down to take a look. "He is there. I can see him." Superboy said.

"I'll lower the ship to pick you up, Robin." Megan said. As the ship moved in closer they could make out Robin's form in the corner of the building. Without taking the ship out of camouflage mode she opened the back hatch and Robin walked onto the ship.

Megan commanded the ship to make another seat and Robin sat down next to Wally. He looked worn out, like he had run a marathon or two. His body was visibly shaking from the stress.

"How do you feel, Robin?" Megan asked as she moved the ship forward to Wayne Enterprises.

"To be honest…not so good. I'm starting to see things when I'm awake." He answered, and slouched down in the chair, and buried his face in his hands. "The drug is working faster now. I don't know what to do."

"Don't worry, man. We'll get the cure tonight."

"How do we even know Scarecrow has one?" Robin asked sounding dejected.

"Batman said he would, and who would know better than the world's greatest detective." Wally said. "Besides, Scarecrow can be affected by the stuff too, right?"

Robin looked up at Wally. "Y-yeah, you're right. Sorry, my mind is just so foggy. I can't think straight."

"No one blames you, Robin." Kaldur tried to reassure him. "You have done nothing wrong."

"Sorry to interrupt, but we've arrived." Megan announced.

"And Batman is already here." Superboy said looking down through the ships windows. The team glanced out as well. "Also I can see activity on the surrounding roofs by City Hall."

"We must not wait any longer. Move out," Kaldur instructed. He then walked over to Robin. "I think it would be best if you stay in the ship. I do not wish for you to become injured."

Robin nodded in agreement. "I'll stay here. Watch out for Scarecrow. Make sure you all have gas masks, he can be unpredictable."

Wally held one up in his hands. "Way ahead of you dude!"

Robin smiled softly. "Alright, good luck."

"Thank you, Robin." Kaldur said and then exited the ship with the rest of the team.

Robin watched out the window as Batman instructed the team on what to do. He saw him look up in the direction of the ship for a brief second, knowing somehow that Batman was looking at him. But the connection was short lived, and Batman gave the word for the team to leave. They dispersed quickly to their designated assignments, and then Robin watched as Batman disappeared into the shadows.

Once again Robin was left alone, and this time it frightened him no matter how hard he tried to fight it. This thing was quickly spiraling out of control. The only hope he had left was that Batman would win because Robin was losing his battle fast.

* * *

**Yay, another chapter is done. I didn't get this up as quickly as I would have liked but I was working on some other stories as well. I wrote a one-shot the other day with Artemis in it because I haven't used her in a story yet, and I really do like her character. She's grown on me a lot. **

**Anyway, it's getting close to the end for this story. I hope all the readers like this chapter. I wasn't sure about the ending (as usual) and maybe some of the pacing was a little too fast in parts of the chapter. Let me know what you think. I always appreciate constructive criticism. Thanks!  
**


	14. Chapter 14

Robin sat in his chair on the bio-ship, legs pulled up to his chest and his forehead resting on his knees. He was trying to block out the images he kept seeing, but it was as if a horror movie had been switched on in front of his eyes. Except Robin would much rather be watching Texas Chainsaw Massacre than be living in the very real nightmare he felt right now. His body was fighting against him, creating adrenaline and activating the toxin pushing him to the ledge. He really wished that he hadn't run away from the cave, but he felt threatened and panicked.

Now sitting in the dark bio-ship hovering twenty stories from the ground wasn't really helping much. He knew that he was not in any real danger (the ship was only a few feet from the rooftop) but his conscious mind constantly contradicted that thought. What if the ship fell from the sky? What if it was struck by lightning? _What if…what if_. It was all he could think of, running scenarios through his mind of all the possible tragedies that could befall him or his loved ones. He couldn't help and his friends were out there fighting a battle that was because of him.

A loud crack of thunder caught his attention. Robin yelped as the sound sent vibrations through the ship. He looked out the window and could see the dark clouds lighting up off in the distance looming around the perimeter of Gotham City. It was going to storm soon.

"Just what I need," Robin groaned.

"Richard." A voice called out. Robin quickly turned in its direction, surprised by the sound, but there was nothing. There was only the very quiet hum of the ship.

He got up and cautiously looked around the chamber, but he couldn't find anything. "Must have been the wind," he tried to convince himself. He went to go back to his seat and was stopped cold. There in front of him was his mother. She was dressed in the same acrobat uniform from the day she died.

"Richard," she said. "What have you done?"

"We are so very disappointed." Another voice said. Robin whirled around and found his father standing behind him. Robin jumped back so that he could see both of them at the same time.

"I-I haven't done anything." Robin replied quietly.

"You used to be such a good boy." His mother said sounding disappointed. "And now all you do is hurt people."

"Hurt people? T-that's not true. I help people. I-I save lives."

"Just like how you saved us, son? You saw Tony Zucco in the tent, but you didn't say a word." His father accused. "You knew he wasn't a good man. If you had told us we wouldn't have died."

Robin felt like ice had flooded his veins as their words continued to jab at him. "T-that's…it was an accident. I tried…dad, but the show was starting. I didn't—" He choked on his words, trying to restrain himself from sobbing.

"Excuses, son. You were too afraid to do anything on your own. You always let others suffer in your place."

"No, no I never wanted any of this. Please, Dad…Mom. I never wanted to see you die." Robin pleaded. Tears had started falling down his cheeks and his chest felt tight. The grief was overwhelming.

"And now because of your selfishness, your friends are out there suffering in your place." His mother said, pointing out the window. "Will you let them die as well, Richard?"

Robin glanced at the window following his mother's gaze and then back to his parents, but they were no longer there. They had disappeared just as quickly as they had shown up. Their ghosts always haunted him in his dreams, but this was worse than anything he had ever endured. They blamed him for the accident that took their lives. Would he be responsible for the loss of his friends too?

Robin looked down at the rooftops trying to find them in the darkness. He found them on one of the adjacent building by City Hall. Robin could see a blur of color that was Kid Flash surrounding some henchmen. His quick actions left them baffled, and soon knocked out as Kid Flash hit them with his speed. Aqualad was using his water bearers in combat with two other men, and at the moment faring quite well. Miss Martian couldn't be seen but the results of her work were obvious as men fell to the ground unconscious by an invisible hand. Superboy was surrounded by a group of people, but he managed to knock them away.

The men landed roughly on the ground, their weapons tossed to the side. But one from Superboy's fight let go of the canisters filled with gas and they cracked open on the concrete roof. A thick yellowish gas began to spread out from the small hole, traveling across the rooftops like morning mist.

"No!" Robin shouted as he watched it. His teammates were engulfed in the dense haze and he could no longer see them.

"Look you killed them all, Richard." His mother's voice said. He looked up at her with sorrow filled eyes. "You just sat by and watched."

"No…I didn't know. They should have been fine. I told them to use gas masks," Robin whispered. "They're really dead?"

Lightning flashed through the sky dividing it half, and that's when Robin finally spotted Batman. He had cornered Scarecrow on City Hall's roof. They were locked in combat. The Scarecrow was lashing out at Batman with his staff, but Batman easily evaded any of his attacks.

"You're going to let him down too." John said standing on Robin's other side.

"No, no. This can't be happening." Robin sobbed.

He continued to watch the fight between Batman and Scarecrow. It seemed as if Batman had the upper hand. Scarecrow was down on his knees, trying to crawl backwards away from Batman. But there was nowhere he could hide. The Dark Knight was in a rage and charged forward. He reached out for Scarecrow leaning down to drag him away, mostly likely to toss him over the edge of the building, when suddenly he stopped. Robin watched in horror as Batman stumbled back and fell down to his knees, and Scarecrow was now the one towering over Batman, a dagger clasped in his hand.

"No!" Robin screamed. He couldn't handle it; his family was gone in an instant. Taken away before his very eyes while he just stood by and watched.

"You let them down, Richard." His mother said.

"You're such a disgrace." His father chastised.

"No. I can't lose them. I would…I would rather die. There's still a chance." Robin told them, and with one last glance out the window he ran for the hatch and opened it.

The last piece of rationality in him told him that Scarecrow needed to be defeated. He flipped down to the roof and ran to City Hall. He launched across the rooftops with his grappling gun, the height not even registering with him. His thoughts were consumed with the death of his friends, his family. Robin's worst fear was finally coming to life, but he wouldn't let it happen. There had to be something he could still do to prevent it, even if it's just to stop the bleeding knife wound he saw in Batman's side.

Robin landed on the air-conditioning unit of City Hall, with a light metallic thud. Scarecrow was alerted by the sound and turned away from Batman to find Robin. He was panting slightly from the strain of moving so quickly in a weakened state. He was crouched down and kept his eyes trained on Scarecrow.

"Ah, if it isn't the Bat's young sidekick. I must say I am astonished to see you alive," Scarecrow jeered and headed for Robin.

Robin had to ignore the sense to run away from Scarecrow. He looked even worse with the toxin affecting his mind. The dark shadows of his tattered clothes seemed to move and undulate around him like snakes, and his mask was twisted into a gruesome, decayed grin as he wandered closer.

Robin involuntarily took a step backwards as Scarecrow approached. Then Robin saw Batman on the ground and all sense of fear was wiped away. It was replaced with an unbridled fury, and the only fear he felt was for the safety of his family.

Robin ran forward, driven by the desire to rescue the people he loved. He flipped off the metal unit landing behind Scarecrow and spun into a kick aiming at the villain's back. He made contact and forcefully shoved Scarecrow into the air-conditioning unit.

Scarecrow growled angrily and tried to strike Robin with his staff. He missed as Robin swiftly sidestepped all his attempts to hit him. Scarecrow stopped and watched, calculating Robin's movements, but keeping his distance from the boy. He could see that Robin was visibly exhausted. It was only a matter of minutes until he beat him.

"Is it fear or courage that drives you, Boy Wonder?" Scarecrow asked, sounding quite amused. "Or perhaps it is stupidity."

"All of the above," Robin responded.

"I suppose so. You look as if you will drop dead at any second just like the rest of your sidekick friends." Scarecrow grinned, contorting his face into a sickening expression.

Robin growled and rushed at Scarecrow. He threw two of his batarangs at him; Scarecrow blocked them with his staff. But Robin wasn't deterred by not hitting his mark. The staff was now placed at the perfect height, held between both of Scarecrow's hands. Robin raised his leg in a sweeping motion and in an instant split the staff in half with an axe kick. Scarecrow reeled backwards by the force of Robin's kick and landed unceremoniously on the ground.

"You'll never hurt another person, Scarecrow. It ends tonight."

"I agree. If I go down, you will also fall tonight. Without the antidote to my toxin it's only a matter of minutes." Scarecrow laughed and held up the small vile that held the antidote. "And sadly, this has to be administered intravenously or it will not have any affect. It appears that you are all out of luck."

"Just shut up!" he shouted and mercilessly attacked Scarecrow, knocking him unconsciousness. Even though he was disguised as a demon, he was still human underneath, weaknesses and all.

Robin took the vile from Scarecrow's hand, and then put handcuffs around his wrists. He proceeded to move over to Batman, although he was afraid of what he would see when he got closer. His heart was beating furiously in his chest; it felt as though it would burst right through his ribcage.

He knelt down next to Batman and was shocked to find no blood, no wound, nothing. He was just unconscious. "Batman," Robin called out to him, shaking his shoulder in an attempt to rouse him.

Batman groaned and slowly woke up. "Robin?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's me." He replied breathlessly. He was happy to find that Bruce was alive, but he was also winded and couldn't catch his breath.

Batman sat up quickly when he realized what exactly was going on. "You're shouldn't be out here!" Robin flinched at the harsh tone of his words, luckily Batman noticed this and softened his voice. "Scarecrow—"

"Is taken care of." Robin cut him off. "I-I thought he killed you. I saw him stab you, and my fear of losing you became a strength that I was able to use against him. He'll regret what he has done."

"Well done. But what you did was completely reckless." He said, his tone even though he wanted it to sound like he was scolding him, was mostly filled with relief.

"I know, sorry." Robin said quietly. His body buzzing from the adrenaline that built up from the fight. Without any threat left though, it was quickly draining all of the energy from his body leaving him numb. He gasped in pain as his heart felt like it was being pricked with needles, and his lungs struggled to take in air.

"Robin!" Batman watched in horror as Robin struggled to breathe, and his hand reached up futilely to try and ease the pain. Robin slumped sideways into Batman's arms, gasping.

"Here." He held out his hand weakly and gave Batman the vile. Robin groaned in pain. "Use…needle."

He heard Batman trying to comfort him, but the words were muffled and he couldn't understand. The frantic sounds of his friend's voices seemed to echo off in the distance. Perhaps it was because he was dying or they were alive, and still trying to save him.

He wanted to call out to them, but his body was paralyzed. Everything slowed down around him, and he was scared. The darkness was overbearing, and the sound of his heartbeat was becoming more distant. He realized he was too late to save himself. After everything he had been through, it wasn't enough to prevent his death. Robin's time was finally up. His heart gave one last beat and then stilled.

* * *

**The End! (NOT REALLY)  
**

**I'm sure I would be shunned if I left the story at a point like this. I still have two or three chapters planned out for this story. I'm also working on writing another chapter story with another favorite villain of mine, which will be probably be published after I finish this one. **

**Anyway let me know what you think of this! Especially the ending (I always have the most trouble writing them). Thanks for reading!  
**


	15. Chapter 15

It was his fault. Batman should have worked faster, prevented Robin from getting hurt in the first place, but he failed. He had endangered his life so many times, but this had been something he never imagined. Batman had lost his son, and even had a hand in causing his death. He couldn't save his partner. He couldn't save his son.

If only he had been paying more attention to the fight, but he was so angry when he caught Scarecrow and the fact that he was laughing sent Batman completely over the edge. _"Is your little bird having bad dreams, Batman? Has he been permanently grounded yet?"_ Scarecrow had taunted. He was proud of what he had done to Robin, and Batman had become so infuriated he was blinded by his rage, he ran straight into a trap.

He had been knocked unconscious by a hidden taser the Scarecrow had, and in an unexpected twist Robin was the one who saved him. But at what cost? Batman had told him to fight, but that was not what he had in mind. He knew Robin could keep the toxin at bay mentally, but physically everything would spiral out of his control. And clearly it had.

Robin had taxed his body to the point where he couldn't take anymore. The poison had reached its peak, causing him to collapse into Batman's arms. His gasps were painful as he struggled to breathe and attempt to speak. His last words were instructions, and that was all he could muster, then moments later Batman could feel the erratic pulse become still under the Robin's skin.

Batman felt numb. He told him that he would protect him, and he failed. Robin must have been so scared but he sacrificed everything to save him. Robin even managed to get the antidote on his own.

_Wait!_ Batman thought, _the antidote. If I can keep his blood flowing it might be enough time to allow it to take effect, and start his heart again. _

"Rob!" The shout came from Wally, and he instantly appeared at Batman's side only seconds after Robin collapsed. "No, no! What happened? He was supposed to be in the Bio-ship," He fell to his knees, distraught at the sight of his friend. "Come on, man! Wake up!"

"His heart…it isn't beating," Superboy whispered. Megan gasped, and Kaldur looked just as shocked as everyone else at the sight of their fallen teammate.

"There's no time." Batman said gruffly. "If we want to save Robin you have to do what I say quickly." He laid Robin down flat, and pulled a knife out of his utility belt. He then sliced through the fabric of Robin's top, avoiding the Kevlar padding, and exposed his chest.

"Kid Flash, start CPR. You're the only one who can do it successfully. The others are too strong." Batman instructed.

"Uh, y-yeah. Okay." Wally said, and started compressions, quietly counting to himself. He only stopped for a second to breathe for him.

Batman reached into another pocket of his utility belt, and pulled out a syringe, and removed it from its sterilized package. Robin said to use a needle when he handed him the antidote, it was good thing he had thought to bring one just in case. He quickly filled the small syringe, and looked down at Robin. The fastest way for it to circulate through his body would be to inject it in his heart, but that was dangerous. One wrong move and he could sever a major artery, or the needle could break in the skin, but if he didn't try Robin would be gone forever. There was no time to think this through. He had to act now.

"Kid, listen to me. I need to inject this into his heart. As soon as I do start compressions again, understand?"

"Got it." Wally said and removed his hands from Robin's chest.

Batman moved in and pushed the needle into Robin's skin. He didn't want to think about what he was doing to his son. He knew enough about anatomy that he was almost a hundred percent sure that this would work. After the syringe was empty he pulled the needle out carefully and Wally started doing compressions once more.

Batman watched, checking Robin's wrist for a pulse. He hoped to see some sign of life in Robin's still body, but everything was being fabricated by Wally's CPR. He needed something more, a defibrillator, but there was no time to get to a hospital. He was running out of time, Robin's heart had been stopped for close to three minutes. Any longer and he would have to stop his attempts to revive him altogether, but he was desperate to save Robin's life. He just needed to think of something quick.

"Aqualad!" Batman almost shouted at the idea that quickly formed in his mind.

"Yes Batman?" Kaldur answered, somewhat startled.

"Can you control the amount of energy you create when you generate electric shocks?"Batman asked. If he was right, he could use Aqualad's power as a type of replacement defibrillator and start Robin's heart with a shock.

"Yes, I can."

"Good. Place your hands here, and make a small charge," Batman instructed pointing to different parts of Robin's chest, one spot just below the heart, and the other above it, so that energy would circulate around it. Kaldur put his hands tentatively on Robin, and created a shock once Wally backed away. Robin's back arched slightly off the ground, but otherwise did not move.

"Why bother trying, Batman" Scarecrow said with a cackle. "The bird is dead. You're just dealing with a corpse now."

Batman looked over at him with a glare. He wanted to charge at him and strangle him, but Superboy beat him to it.

Superboy let out a feral growl and lunged at the villain. "You don't get to speak about him that way!" He then picked him up and threw him against the air-conditioning unit. The impact of his body made a large dent in the metal and Scarecrow was immediately silenced. He wasn't dead, but he would soon be wishing he was after Batman got a hold of him.

"Aqualad, once more." Batman commanded after the distraction was gone. This was the last piece of hope he had left. Robin couldn't die tonight. He wouldn't allow it.

Kaldur tried again, the bright electricity crackling down his arms and through Robin's translucent skin. The night seemed so much darker as the pale blue light illuminated the rooftop, and Robin's pale form. Robin's body moved with the current and then stilled again.

"Come on, Richard. It's not time to say goodbye yet," Batman said quietly, looking for any sign of life. He touched Robin's face gently, as though he were trying to coax him awake from sleep. What if he actually did damage him internally? Perhaps it was too late for the antidote to negate the effects of the toxin. Or maybe Scarecrow's disruption took away the vital seconds he had left to save Robin.

"I'm so sorry, Richard," Batman whispered.

As if in response Robin stirred. He took in a shuddering gasp, as his heart started pumping on its own again. He coughed harshly, his body trembling as it tried to inhale the oxygen almost too quickly for his starving lungs.

"Slowly Dick, you're okay. You're okay," Batman said, taking Robin into his arms, trying to comfort him. Robin slowly calmed down and his breathing became more regulated.

Batman could hear the sighs of relief from the rest of the team. He was just as relieved to hear the sounds of his son breathing. It was the most reassuring sound he had heard in such a long time because with each breath he knew that Robin was alive.

Robin moaned quietly, his eyes moving beneath his mask, and his eyes opened. His vision was blurry at first, but he managed to make out the figures watching over him. His team looking at him with smiles, and Batman was holding onto him.

"A-am I dead?" he asked, no more than a whisper.

"No, you're alive." Batman answered with a small laugh.

Robin smiled weakly, and then looked over at his team. "Then you're all okay too?"

"Of course, Robin," Megan said happily and wiped the tears away from her eyes.

"I-I thought I saw you die… all of you. Should've known better," Robin tried to laugh at the thought, but it transformed into a strangled cry as tears started falling down his cheeks, escaping from behind his mask. "I'm glad. I-I didn't want to lose all of you." He said, taking in breaths between words.

"Rob, we're all fine. You saved us by telling us what to do. The gas masks remember?" Wally spoke up trying to comfort him.

"We would never leave you behind, Robin."Kaldur added. "You are an important friend to all of us."

"The nightmare is over now." Batman said, running his hands through Robin's hair, and pulling his cape closer to his body. "Everything will be all right." Robin nodded and then fell asleep. He was too weak to stay conscious anymore. Batman stayed with him a few more minutes, cradling Robin in his arms just to feel the encouraging heartbeat.

Soon enough rain finally started to fall down from the dark clouds that had encroached upon Gotham City during their battle. The drops started out minimal, but slowly began to pick up and would eventually turn into a downpour. Batman lifted Robin up off the ground and brought him over to Superboy. "Can you take care of him? I need to make sure the Gotham police get Scarecrow to Arkham."

Superboy nodded, "I'll keep him safe."

Batman reluctantly placed Robin in his arms. Batman trusted the team, they had proven themselves to be loyal, and he knew they would take care of Robin. He just didn't want to let go of him yet. He almost lost him tonight, but he wasn't going to let Scarecrow have a chance to escape either, although he doubted the man could move much after what Superboy had done.

Megan called the Bio-ship down and opened the back hatch. She walked aboard taking her seat in the Captain's chair, and the rest followed suit. Superboy sat in his chair still holding Robin close to him. Batman made sure that everyone was settled and that Robin was all right.

"Take him immediately to the medical wing. Red Tornado will help as usual, but Robin needs to be put on oxygen as soon as you get to the cave." Batman instructed, still hesitant to actually leave Robin after what had occurred.

"We understand." Kaldur responded.

Batman nodded. Lightning flashed in the sky behind him, followed by a chorus of thunderclaps. The ship's doors shut. The rain picked up as the Bio-ship started back for Mount Justice. He watched after the ship (even though he couldn't see it clearly in its camouflage) until he knew it would be out of range, and Robin was out of harm's way.

* * *

**The Transformers score soundtrack was all I listened to when I wrote this. I think some of the tracks work pretty well with the chapters, especially The Allspark. I love the instrumental music in that song. Anyway I got this done a lot quicker than I thought I would. And look, Robin isn't dead after all. Yay! I could never actually kill him.**

**Once again let me know what you think! Mainly how did the ending work out? I might attempt to change it, but after staring at it for two days, I wasn't coming up with anything better. Anyway, I always look forward to your comments/critiques. Thanks for reading :)  
**


	16. Chapter 16

A river was the only thought that entered his mind. He felt like he had been pushed into rapids, tossed against the rocks, thrown over a thrashing waterfall, pulled into its suffocating riptide, and then at last he was left to drift in the slow current of the water. Finally it was calm.

Robin was still drifting through unconsciousness of his dreams. He could remember nightmares, distant feelings of fear and loss, and it felt as if he had misplaced something precious, but somehow regained it. Yet what it was he couldn't quite remember. It felt like he had been asleep for a long time, but slowly he was being called back to wakefulness.

At first Robin heard sounds. The distant crescendo of piano keys from one of his favorite songs, Clair de Lune, chimed quietly in the background, and mixed in with the sound of an EKG monitor. Then he could feel his body as he became more aware. It felt heavy and stiff; he couldn't move much except his fingers. There was a small pinching feeling in his right hand indicating an IV was most likely attached. The bed underneath him was familiar. It wasn't the hard mattresses of the medical ward in the mountain. The bed felt like the one in his room. In fact the room carried the faint scent of fresh cotton and lemon polish, the stuff Alfred used to clean the wood furnishings in his room.

At last he opened his eyes; his vision swirled as it adjusted to the light, but came back into focus. He was in his room at the manor. It was mostly dark, but there was a small lamp on in the corner. He was alone for the moment, but someone had been in there recently because his desk chair had been moved to his bedside. Robin was slightly confused; he didn't really understand what was going on. He couldn't presently recall being injured, but obviously he had been.

He sifted through his memories trying to think of what could have happened to him. Images flashed through his mind. He could remember feeling awful and scared, fighting Scarecrow, and then an unimaginable pain in his chest. He couldn't breathe and he passed out. Robin remembered briefly waking up gasping like he had been holding his breath for hours. Batman was talking to him and holding onto him while his friends were standing around him, but that was a little hazier.

He looked around his room, trying to take in everything that had happened. Robin looked at the circus poster that was framed above the bed. Hot tears instantly pooled in his eyes when he saw his parents smiling faces on the laminated paper as it evoked the horrible hallucinations he had. He remembered everything that he saw, and even though the hallucinations were just fabrications created by the toxin, the hurt it created still lingered with him.

Robin closed his eyes and turned away from the poster. He couldn't take it. He always felt guilty over their deaths, and now he just felt even worse. It was as if a wound that had just begun to close was savagely ripped open again with a jagged blade.

The doorknob clicked and he listened as the door swung open. Robin couldn't look to see who came in though, if he opened his eyes he was sure the floodgates would burst and wouldn't be able to stop himself from crying more.

"Dick," Bruce said softly and sat down on the edge of his bed. "What's wrong? Are you hurting?" There was a hint of urgency in his voice.

Dick shook his head, but otherwise didn't speak. He couldn't trust his voice right now. Plus he was slightly embarrassed that Bruce had caught him in tears. Even though this had happened countless times since his parents died, he was still hesitant to let Bruce see him with his guard down. Yet he knew Bruce understood how he was feeling.

"Well then what is it? You know if you don't tell me, I can't help you." Bruce tried to reason with him calmly.

Dick opened his eyes, they were glassy with tears, and turned his head to look at Bruce. "Do…do you think they really blame me?" He asked in a quiet whisper. His throat was tight, like he hadn't spoke in weeks.

"What do you mean?" Bruce asked gently, simultaneously he grabbed the cup of water off of the nightstand and let Dick have a drink.

Dick cleared his throat, and continued. "I was hallucinating on the bio-ship from the drug. I kept seeing my parents and… they blamed me for their deaths. They said I could have prevented it if I had said something. It was all my fault. I'm a disgrace." He choked on a sob, and relapsed back into gasping, trembling cries. "I don't want them to hate me. I didn't mean for any of it to happen."

"Dick, it is not your fault." Bruce said and gently pulled Dick into a hug. "We've been over this before. You couldn't have known what was going to happen. It wasn't your fault." Bruce tried to comfort him. They stayed like that for a moment, and Dick calmed down enough until he was only sniffling. Bruce gingerly placed Dick back on the pillows. He took his hand and held onto it to show his support.

"I know," Dick started after a minute. "B-but seeing them, real or not, it hurt. Hearing their disapproval was just…it's not how I want to remember them." Dick said, and wiped the tears away from his eyes.

"Then don't." Bruce said simply. "Tell me something good about them."

Dick thought for a second and then he smiled lightly. "This song was one of mom's favorites." He paused to listen to the ending notes of the piano keys as Clair de Lune faded out. "That's why I love listening to it. She would play classical music on this old record player we had while we traveled or even during practice. I remember one time I caught mom and dad dancing to it in our trailer's kitchen…they were so happy."

"See you don't have to remember the bad things. They weren't real. All you have to know is that you're parents loved you, and I'm sure they would be very proud of you now. I know I am so very proud of what you've done Dick…regardless of how reckless you might have been."

Dick smiled. "Thanks, Bruce."

"Now how do you feel? You've been out for almost a week." Bruce asked while glancing at the EKG monitor, and the bag of saline.

"Right now… my muscles ache and my chest really hurts. I'm still really tired too. I don't remember getting hurt though, well other than passing out. What happened?"

"You didn't pass out, Dick. You've got a bruised sternum from CPR." Bruce explained.

"You had to do CPR?" Dick asked surprised.

Bruce nodded. "You went into cardiac arrest. You pushed yourself too hard. I almost thought I was going to lose you, but Wally did compressions while I administered the antidote to keep you blood flowing. Kaldur helped to start your heart again with his powers since compressions weren't working. Without your team I don't think I would have been able to bring you back"

"I don't exactly remember that part."

"I wouldn't really expect you to, but I am so glad that you're all right." Bruce said and ruffled his hair. Dick smiled at the gesture. "Now I think you should try to get some more rest. It's still early in the morning."

"Okay" Dick agreed. "Wait, what happened to Scarecrow? He's in Arkham right?" Dick asked, the EKG picking up the slight stress that he felt at the thought of the villain.

Bruce expression turned grim at the mention Scarecrow. "Don't worry. He won't be bothering anyone for a long time. Superboy put him in a body cast."

Dick couldn't help but look surprised. "Oh wow."

"Yes, it was very unexpected, but not unwelcome. Scarecrow deserved everything he got." Bruce tried not to show his anger. Dick didn't need to witness that, he had already been through enough. He lightened his tone when he spoke again "Now try and get some more rest. When you wake up later I have a surprise for you." Bruce smiled lightly, and patted Dick on the knee.

"Can you stay until I fall asleep?" Dick asked quietly, his eyes slipping closed.

"Sure thing," Bruce said and sat down in the chair instead of the edge of the mattress. Dick reached out for his hand, and he gripped it lightly in his. The reassuring touch made Dick feel secure and Bruce was just content to sit with his son, knowing he was safe.

"Thanks," Dick murmured quietly. The soft, calming melody of Debussy's Reverie played lightly in the background, and he drifted off to sleep once more.

* * *

**I was going to make this longer, but I felt that just keeping this between Dick and Bruce was best. I wanted to portray more of their relationship, and this was a great opportunity. **

**Let me know what you think of this chapter. I love to get feedback :) There's one more chapter left after this one!  
**


	17. Chapter 17

The bed was warm. It was comforting and kept away all the uneasy, nightmarish feelings that he had felt before. Now he knew he was safe. The distant sounds of birds chirping in a nearby tree made their way into Dick's dreams, slowly bringing him to awareness as his dreams dissolved away. Suddenly a loud crash woke Dick from his sleep, making his dreams disappear abruptly.

It sounded like something metal had smashed against the marble floors down at the base of the stairs, startling Dick immensely. Alfred and Bruce were both quite careful when they moved about the mansion. He wondered what had happened, but he was still slightly groggy from sleep, and the small paranoia leftover from the fight with Scarecrow compelled him to find out what was going on. It sounded like it could have been one of Alfred's serving trays hitting the floor, but Dick had to be sure.

The sound of voices carried up through the house, the tones of the voices ranged in emotion. Normally Bruce didn't invite guests over if Dick was injured because he didn't want to raise any suspicion about being Batman, so it was weird that he could even hear people in the first place. It also added to his paranoia. What if something bad had happened? The sounds were just so out of place, but then laughter rang out and that just managed to make Dick even more puzzled.

Dick took the IV out of his hand and pulled off the tabs to the EKG machine. It started to make a flat-lining sound and he quickly turned it off, not wanting to hear the unsettling ring. Dick pushed himself up from the bed, and slowly made his way off of it. He couldn't stand not knowing, as a detective he wanted to find out what was going on if only to relieve his own worries.

He found that it was easier to sit up than he had anticipated, but standing was a whole other issue. His chest hurt when he moved from the bruises, and his legs were shaky from being in bed for so long. He also felt a slight twinge of vertigo, but Dick didn't let that stop him. He had been through so much worse; he could at least make it to the top of the stairs.

He walked over and opened the oak door of his bedroom. It swung open quietly on well oiled hinges, and he went out into the hall. It was cooler than his bedroom, making him shiver a bit. The floor was also cold under his feet, even though it was carpeted. He wished that he had thought to grab a hoodie or something before he left his room.

Dick walked the short distance to the stairs, which overlooked the sitting room and led down into the foyer. By the front door there were four pairs of shoes sitting on a mat. The voices had gotten louder, and Dick thought he could almost recognize them, but he wasn't sure if he had heard right. He grabbed onto the railing and carefully went down the steps. The lounge was off to the side through a pair of double doors which were currently open. He rounded the corner, standing in the doorway of the room, holding onto the frame for support. He couldn't believe what he was looking at.

Dick stared wide-eyed as he saw his friends in the lounge talking animatedly with each other. There was a platter of snacks and a pitcher of iced tea on the table. A Caucasian Megan was talking to Wally about the cookies Alfred had most likely placed out. Superboy was sitting on the sofa looking around the room and Kaldur was quietly reading over the titles of the numerous books on the bookshelf.

"W-what are you doing here?" Dick asked surprised.

They all stopped what they were doing and looked over at him. Wally had a cookie shoved into his mouth, and swallowed quickly to answer Dick.

"Hey dude!" Wally smiled at him. "Bruce invited us over. He said you would be awake soon, but I didn't expect to see you down here yet."

"What…Bruce really asked you here?" Dick looked around the room to see if he could find Bruce, but he was nowhere in sight. It was strange though. Bruce had been so adamant about protecting their identities, and now his friends were sitting in his living room in civilian clothes. "I must be dreaming still."

"No, you are not, my friend. We wanted to see how you were doing after what happened last week. After Batman took you from the mountain we were still concerned." Kaldur said. "You scared us all."

"Sorry, for putting you through that. I didn't want any of that to happen."

"We aren't blaming you and it's not your fault at all. It's just were were all so worried about you. Batman, or rather Mr. Wayne told us we could come and visit you after you woke up. We never thought he would invite us to your house." Megan explained further.

"Oh." Dick responded, somewhat overwhelmed by everything that was happening. Dick smiled though. He had asked Bruce if they could do something after they finished the mission. This was certainly an interesting surprise.

"How are you doing?"Superboy asked.

"Better," Dick answered. But he was still sore, even standing at the moment was presenting a challenge. He felt light-headed and knew he should probably sit down. He leaned against the doorframe heavily as his vision swam suddenly, and his legs threatened to give out on him. He started to slide down to the floor.

"Dick!" Wally was next to him in an instant and grabbed him around the shoulders. "You probably shouldn't walk around yet. Your body has to get used to being up."

"Haha yeah I know. But I heard something crash on the floor, and it bothered me."

"Oh sorry. That was me; I backed into Alfred by accident and knocked a tray out of his hands." Wally explained. "Want me to help you back to your room?"

"No, I'll just sit on the couch for a while." He said pointing at an open space in between where Wally had been sitting previously next to Superboy. Wally helped him over to the couch, and Dick sat down gratefully. He leaned his head back against cushion and closed his eyes waiting for the sense of vertigo to go away. "Sorry. I got dizzy."

"Do you need anything, Robin?" Megan asked. "Some food perhaps? You haven't had anything to eat lately have you?"

Dick laughed and looked over at her. "You don't have to call me Robin. My name is Richard; well you can call me Dick."

"Oh, yes. It was out of habit I guess." Megan said blushing slightly.

"Oh there you are, Master Richard," Alfred was standing in the doorway now, a tray in his hand. Dick hadn't heard him approach, absorbed in the conversation with his friends. He was slightly alarmed at the new voice. "My apologies. I did not mean to startle you, but I was looking for you."

"It's okay, Alfred. Um, sorry I didn't tell you where I was."

"It is not a problem. I figured you would end up here. I brought you soup if you would like some."

"You always know what I want, Al. Thanks." Dick said and took the mug and spoon out of Alfred's hands. "Where is Bruce?"

"Master Bruce is in the Batcave. He got distracted with some work and said he would be up shortly."

"All right. Thanks Al."

"Of course, Master Richard. Call if you need anything, I will be nearby." Alfred said and left the room.

Dick took a sip from the mug filled with soup, savoring the warm broth. It felt really good as it trickled down his throat. He hadn't realized just how hungry he was until now. They all sat in the lounge for a few minutes quietly, until Dick had finished his soup and Wally had devoured most of the cookies on the coffee table.

"Is it only the three of you in this house?" Kaldur asked, breaking the silence.

Dick shook his head. "Um yeah. Alfred has been here since Bruce was a kid and raised him after his parents died. And Bruce did the same for me after my parents were taken away from me. I suppose it's something we have in common, and allows us to support each other so well. I've been really fortunate to have Bruce around."

"It must have been difficult for you though. I'm sorry, Dick." Megan said.

"It's been hard at times and I miss my parents a lot, but I've gotten used to this new life. Although it took some time. I was so used to circus life that after I moved here I got lost in the mansion. I was stuck up on the third floor for almost two hours completely turned around." Dick replied with a short laugh. He leaned forward to put the mug on the coffee table and winced as the movement aggravated his chest.

"What's wrong?" Superboy asked with concern.

"I've just got some bruising on my chest. I'm fine."

Wally paled. "Oh man. I'm so sorry about that. It's my fault, isn't it?" He apologized frantically. "Not like you needed any more pain to deal with. Geez, I feel awful. Sorry Dick."

"Slow down, kid mouth. It's okay." Dick responded with breathy laugh. "I don't blame you, Wally. You helped save my life. All of you helped save my life. I can take a little bruising in order to keep breathing."

Wally relaxed and looked at Dick. "Well, I'm still sorry that you're hurt, but I'm glad that you're here too. Seriously wouldn't know what I would do without you, bud."

"I think we can all agree with that." Kaldur added.

"Absolutely," Megan said cheerily.

"Thanks everyone." Dick couldn't help but smile. "So I heard that you put Scarecrow in a body cast." Dick said to Superboy. "Thanks for that."

Superboy smiled a little. "Anytime. But I don't really want to do it again under the same circumstances."

"Yeah, me neither." He replied, his voice a bit shaky at the end. It wasn't like it bothered him, Dick had brought up the fight in the first place, but the events with the toxin and Scarecrow would take some time to get over. Thankfully Dick didn't think it would be that hard with his friends beside him.

"So Dick," Wally cut in, trying to change the topic. "Uh…why don't you tell us about your life as Richard Grayson. I mean you've told me some stuff, but what's it like to be you. I mean look at your house…it's huge!"

Dick rolled his eyes. "Haha fine. I guess I can share if you want." They all nodded at him so Dick started telling them about the little things first. What his school was like and small bits of his life with Haly's Circus. Superboy was interested when Dick mentioned that his school gymnasium and some halls had to be renovated after their fight with Amazo. They would all ask questions occasionally, and it was fun for Dick to tell them his story. He enjoyed sharing things with them because it allowed him to express his trust in them, and it appeared as though they liked learning about him just as much.

Hours passed by as they talked, until Bruce finally came upstairs from the Batcave. Alfred told him that they were in the lounge so he headed there. The sun was setting leaving a dusky orange on the walls of the lounge as he entered to check on Dick. It was strange that there were no voices coming from the room as he approached, but once he came to the door he found out why.

Dick was asleep on the couch, his head leaning back against the cushions, almost resting against Wally's shoulder. Each one of them had dozed off with a movie playing in the background on the flat screen television. The stress and axiety from the past week must have finally caught up with them leaving them exhausted, but now they had time to rest. It was odd to see them all so peaceful when normally they were out fighting criminals or training. Yet it was to be expected, they could only do so much. After all they were still only kids. It also showed how deeply they trusted each other and proved to Bruce that he had made the right choice in sticking with Dick's judgment. Together as a team they created a bond, something strong that could withstand the blows any villain throws in attempt to topple them. They trusted each other fully, and that is the most important thing. This was a family that would watch out for one another.

* * *

**Well that's the end of the story. I hope it turned out all right, because I was seriously struggling with this chapter. I had too many ideas, but finally settled with this. But overall it was fun to write, and I just want to thank everyone for reading this and sticking with it. I really appreciate all the wonderful comments that come in the reviews. You guys have been great!  
**

**Anyway, this one might be over with but I have started another story called "Forget Me Not" which also focuses on Dick. So if anyone is interested please feel free to take a look :)  
**


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